On Thursday, June 8 the celebration of Corpus Christi will take place. Its translation means “body of Christ” and it is a celebration of the Catholic Church in which the Blessed Sacrament is honored.
Origin of Corpus Christi Christi
To find out the origin of Corpus Christi we must go back to the Last Supper of Jesus Christ on Holy Thursday. It was then that Jesus referred to the bread as a representation of his body and the wine as his blood, inviting the disciples to eat and drink from them.
It would already be in the Middle Ages, more specifically in the year 1208, when the nun Juliana de Cornillón would begin to devise a festival in which the Body and Blood of Christ. Likewise, tradition has it that, in the year 1263, while a priest was saying mass in an Italian church in the town of Bolsena, the host began to bleed. From that moment on, it would become known among the faithful as the “miracle of Bolsena”, consolidating the celebration of Corpus Christi. This would cause, in the year 1264, in Liege, a city in present-day Belgium, the then highest authority of the Catholic religion, Pope Urban IV, to institutionalize this celebration religious.
Something that is customary today, such as Corpus Christi processions through the streets of cities and towns, were established in the 16th century. It would be with the Council of Trent when it was decreed that the body of Christ would be processed every year.
Meaning and symbolism
It is a ritual to remember and commemorate the institution of the Eucharist, the act of Jesus with his apostles at the Last Supper. Therefore, it is about bringing closer, proclaiming and increasing the faith of the people through the procession of the “body of Christ” under the representation of a Monstrance with the Sacred Form.
Date
This celebration does not have a specific day, so So to know and calculate the exact date of Corpus Christi celebration we must look at the lunar calendar. From there, we have to wait for the Thursday that follows the ninth Sunday following the first time the spring moon is seen from the northern hemisphere. Thus, it will be set on Thursday of the second week after Pentecost or, what is the same, after 60 days from Resurrection Sunday and the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Therefore, this year Corpus Christi will be celebrated on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Holidays in Spain
We will have to carefully consult the cases of each autonomous community, since it is not established as a national holiday. The 2023 work calendar shows that this year will be a holiday only in the community of Castilla-La Mancha. In this way, all its provinces will be able to enjoy this day on the occasion of the celebration of Corpus Christi. However, a local holiday has also been declared in the Andalusian cities of Seville and Granada.
Notable events
The celebration of Corpus Christi can be the perfect excuse to visit some of the Spanish cities that celebrate this date in style.
In Toledo Corpus Christi is classified as a Festival of International Tourist Interest. On this occasion it will be held between June 4 and 11 and, in addition to the traditional procession, you can enjoy concerts, exhibitions, meetings, performances or parades, as well as neighborhood parties. /p>
In Granada, from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 June you can experience numerous events such as the traditional Festival of Puppets and Puppets in the Plaza de la Bib-Rambla. In addition, this edition will feature performances by Rocío choirs, regional dances, theater, zarzuela, concerts or sports tournaments. Other notable events would also be the organization of exhibitions, competitions and workshops. For the little ones, you can visit ecological carousels, workshops, magicians, storytellers and games in the city center.
Also from Saturday the 3rd to Sunday the 11th June, numerous activities are scheduled in Seville to celebrate Corpus Christi. In addition to concerts and cultural visits, the Eucharistic Procession and the assembly of different altars that adorn the city stand out.
The Galician town of Pontearas has become very popular in recent years for its celebration of the Corpus Christi festival. So much so that it has been declared of International Tourist Interest. Special mention deserves the magnificent floral carpets that the neighbors are in charge of making for the passage of the Blessed Sacrament.
Villa de Mazo is also another of the places that we have to highlight. Declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, it develops, from Saturday June 3 to Saturday June 24, multiple cultural and sports activities for all ages. You can't miss the arches, hallway carpets and the tapestry that decorates the city.
In these days of Corpus Christi, specifically from Wednesday, June 7 to Sunday, June 11, the Fiesta also stands out of the Patum de Berga. It is a traditional celebration held in the Barcelona town of Berga. In its celebration, the different mystical and symbolic figures stand out, dancing to the rhythm of the music while offering a show with fire and pyrotechnics.
In Castrillo de Murcia there is a unique celebration, El Colacho. This is a character who represents the devil and becomes the antagonist of the party. Therefore, he will try to interrupt the festivities celebrated that week and prevent the triumph of Good over Evil. These characters walk the streets under a disguise chasing spectators with a ponytail. However, we should not worry, because every year El Colacho ends badly and has to flee, to the joy of all the visitors and inhabitants. The role of Los Colachos is not reduced to this, but they also star in one of the most anticipated moments such as the jump to the babies. And they have to go over them so that they can later be blessed by a priest. This symbolizes that, although Good and Evil want to influence the baby, Evil, represented by El Colacho, jumps and flees, while Good triumphs.
