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The Feast of Corpus Christi (also known as the Feast of the Body of Christ) is celebrated on the eighth Thursday after Easter. The celebration commemorates the ritual of the Eucharist and is a reflection of the Maundy Thursday observance during Holy Week. Corpus Christi is unique in several ways. The feast was not instituted within the Church until the 14th century AD, and its advocates for inclusion in the Church roster of holy days were two women.
In commemoration of the Last Supper on the day before Jesus’ crucifixion, many Christians around the world receive Communion on this day. In some countries the consecrated bread (or host) is paraded throughout the streets. Priests carry the bread in a monstrance, which is a type of vessel in which the consecrated host is exposed. In Spain and Provence the processions can be elaborate, featuring saints and characters from the Bible, following a path decorated with wreaths and flowers.
In Portugal the feast is known as Dia de Corpo de Deus and has been one of the major religious observances both on the mainland and in the Azores since medieval times. In the city of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, the people make a flower-petal carpet almost three quarters of a mile in length. A procession of high-ranking clergy and red-robed priests who are followed by a group of first communicants (those who will receive communion for the first time), pass over this carpet. The climax of the ceremony comes when the bishop raises the silver monstrance and exposes the Blessed Sacrament, the “body of Christ”.
In Germany Corpus Christi is celebrated with colorful processions where the sacrament and other holy symbols are carried throughout the villages. Small-town streets are decorated with flowers and greenery. Children dressed in white wear wreaths of flowers and accompany women in regional costume and local clergy. Sometimes people display pictures of Jesus Christ and spread carpets in front of their houses to honor the day. Some processions, for example in the region of Bavaria, are held on lakes rather than on the streets, with flower-decked boats carrying members of the procession and worshippers across the waters.
In Switzerland this festival is usually observed with elaborate processions of clergy in their best robes, people in regional costumes, and soldiers in historic uniforms. The priest who leads the procession often walks on a carpet of flowers. In some areas it is customary to throw the church doors open and to decorate the altar and aisles with garlands and greens.
In Mexico religious processions are common on this day, as is the reposiar, a small shrine or altar set up along the procession’s path, covered with a lace trimmed altar cloth and decorated with candles, flowers and garlands. In some parts of Mexico Corpus Christi is observed with symbolic battles between the Moors and the Christians, particularly in the Sierras of Puebla and Veracruz. Another spectacle that takes place on this day is the Danza de los Voladores, or Flying Pole Dance. The dance involves five men, each representing the five elements of the indigenous world, on a tall pole. One of the men plays a musical instrument at the top of the pole while the remaining four descend the pole with a rope tied by one of their feet. The rope unwraps itself 13 times for each of the four flyers, symbolizing the 52 weeks of the year.
In commemoration of the Last Supper on the day before Jesus’ crucifixion, many Christians around the world receive Communion on this day. In some countries the consecrated bread (or host) is paraded throughout the streets. Priests carry the bread in a monstrance, which is a type of vessel in which the consecrated host is exposed. In Spain and Provence the processions can be elaborate, featuring saints and characters from the Bible, following a path decorated with wreaths and flowers.
In Portugal the feast is known as Dia de Corpo de Deus and has been one of the major religious observances both on the mainland and in the Azores since medieval times. In the city of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, the people make a flower-petal carpet almost three quarters of a mile in length. A procession of high-ranking clergy and red-robed priests who are followed by a group of first communicants (those who will receive communion for the first time), pass over this carpet. The climax of the ceremony comes when the bishop raises the silver monstrance and exposes the Blessed Sacrament, the “body of Christ”.
In Germany Corpus Christi is celebrated with colorful processions where the sacrament and other holy symbols are carried throughout the villages. Small-town streets are decorated with flowers and greenery. Children dressed in white wear wreaths of flowers and accompany women in regional costume and local clergy. Sometimes people display pictures of Jesus Christ and spread carpets in front of their houses to honor the day. Some processions, for example in the region of Bavaria, are held on lakes rather than on the streets, with flower-decked boats carrying members of the procession and worshippers across the waters.
In Switzerland this festival is usually observed with elaborate processions of clergy in their best robes, people in regional costumes, and soldiers in historic uniforms. The priest who leads the procession often walks on a carpet of flowers. In some areas it is customary to throw the church doors open and to decorate the altar and aisles with garlands and greens.
In Mexico religious processions are common on this day, as is the reposiar, a small shrine or altar set up along the procession’s path, covered with a lace trimmed altar cloth and decorated with candles, flowers and garlands. In some parts of Mexico Corpus Christi is observed with symbolic battles between the Moors and the Christians, particularly in the Sierras of Puebla and Veracruz. Another spectacle that takes place on this day is the Danza de los Voladores, or Flying Pole Dance. The dance involves five men, each representing the five elements of the indigenous world, on a tall pole. One of the men plays a musical instrument at the top of the pole while the remaining four descend the pole with a rope tied by one of their feet. The rope unwraps itself 13 times for each of the four flyers, symbolizing the 52 weeks of the year.