Feast of the Body of Christ

Feast of the Body of the LordThis holiday stands on the border of the Easter cycle and summer holidays, celebrated in June, on the fortieth day after Easter, on Thursday. The main idea of Corpus Christi (as the name of the holiday sounds in Spanish) is a reminder of the essence of the Catholic dogma of communion (eucharist - Eucaristia). Thus, this holiday is not associated with any pagan pre-Christian traditions, it is religious in content, and urban in social organization.

In the structure of the holiday, from the very beginning, a solemn procession through the streets of the city and a festive mass in the cathedral stood out. In the past centuries, the so-called “auto sacramental” (sacred action, performance) was played at the service – a performance on the theme of the day. Nowadays, an echo of the former auto is the participation in the mass of boy singers, and in the processions - boys dancers, the so-called seises. Apparently, at first there were 6 children participating (hence the name: seis = six). Now this number can vary, haq, in the most famous ensembles, in Seville - 10 seisses, and in Toledo - 7.

The processions of the feast of the Lord’s body are held with extraordinary pomp. Bright canvases, flower garlands, carpets of live flowers are hung on the streets of the city, along which crowded processions march. On the eve of the holiday, local residents collect flowers and fragrant herbs (rosmary, thyme) in the vicinity to lay out whole kilometers of short-lived carpets with wonderful multicolor patterns.

The festive processions are attended by “gigantes” and “heads” (cabezudos). "Giants" - high - 3-4 meters dolls in bright robes, they represent different characters: biblical (Herod, Goliath), historical (Caligula, Tiberius, Nero), or allegories of any idea, etc. Among the “giants” there are purely Spanish characters: Sid Campeador or medieval kings. “Heads” or “dwarfs” with huge papier-mache heads (enanos, cabezudos) are comic characters without any prototypes, most likely they appeared as a contrasting addition to the “giants” in the festive processions.

In addition to the “giants” and “dwarfs” in the processions, “horses” (caballines) are also involved: a frame is fixed on the participant’s belt, covered with a cloth like a horse in a blanket; a horse head is attached to the front from a painted papier-mache, a tail from a rope or horse hair is attached to the frame. Often there is another fantastic character, this "Tarasca" - a huge snake, seven-headed hydra, a dragon that alternately opens and closes the terrible mouth.

The feast of the Body of the Lord, purely religious in origin, over time became a truly national holiday, in which the strict rite of church service, the ceremonial procession and play elements characteristic of noisy pre-Christian festivities were combined.