My first Magazine Holidays in Costa Rica

NEW YEAR´S DAY

Traditional Festivals

in San Ramon

San Ramon is one of those towns that keeps a lot of the traditions of Costa Rican culture. Traditional festivals in Costa Rica have already started, and they make me realize how much people from San Ramon enjoy this time of the year. It means a time where the families will hang out together, and friends and visitors from other areas will be here. One of the main aspects that represent a culture is the festivals and social interactions in a town. Good music, food and traditions are some of the greatest ways to dive into a culture. Costa Rica has holidays and festivals all year round in different towns through the country. There are religious festivals, music and art festivals, historical festivals and food festivals in Costa Rica. Sometimes they are organized by the local communities to keep traditions alive and help the local economy, since people come from all over to participate.

What happens during the 2 weeks of the festival?

Year after year, San Ramon prepares the building of what we call “Ranchos” around the park. After that, the festival is divided into different areas. The main stage in front of the church always has live music and artistic performances, local cuisine, local arts and other activities.

There are 2 main days you may want to attend the festival:

•Day of the saints (August 30): This day represents the celebration when all saints from different districts come to visit Saint Ramon (Protector of pregnant women and babies). So the statues that represent the saints will be going around the park with flowers and music to do honor to the saint.

•Ox carts Parade: This part of the festival is usually celebrated on a Sunday. The rural areas of the town will exhibit their bulls to the town. Oxcarts represent the labor force of our past ancestors. This tradition celebrates the rebuilding of the church in San Ramon. After the church was destroyed by an earthquake, the new pieces were brought from Germany to Costa Rica. Several ox carts with bulls had to carry the materials from Puntarenas to San Ramon.

August 31st – San Ramon Day

How did this festival start?

The tradition of this festival started 169 years ago, and it represents pretty well what means be a “moncheño” (a person from San Ramon, Costa Rica). The names of the towns are related to the name of a saint since Costa Rica is a Catholic country. So, in San Ramon, we celebrate Saint Ramon from Cataluña every year on August 31st.

WALKING IS SIMPLE, FREE AND ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO GET MORE ACTIVE, LOSE WEIGHT AND BECOME HEALTHIER.

HoliDays 4

My first Magazine Holidays in Costa Rica | Page 2