Sidebar #23 - Holy Week in Costa Rica

As one might assume, Costa Rica is a Catholic country by tradition. I think religiosity varies tremendously by region and by demographic, but culturally speaking, Catholicism still permeates Costa Rican society quite a bit. Because of this, Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is a big deal in Costa Rica. Public school classes are out all week, Monday through Sunday. Additionally, Thursday and Friday were public holidays nationwide, meaning that most people were off work those days. Some Ticos choose to spend the week at home, partaking in religious events or activities, but many take advantage of the holidays to travel around the country (Peace Corps Volunteers included). Traffic, or presa, in Costa Rica is always an issue, but the roads to the beach are particularly clogged up during Semana Santa. From my experience traveling to Guanacaste during Semana Santa, it felt like there were much more domestic tourists than normal, and fewer gringos than normal, which must be a result of the public holidays, or feriados. I wish I could comment more on the unique traditions Costa Rica may have for Pascua (Easter), but since I’m not Catholic and I used this time to travel to the beach, I didn’t get to experience a lot of those traditions firsthand. However, empanadas de chiverre, which is a type of sweet squash, are common during Easter. Overall, my impression is that many of the Catholic traditions here reflect those in the States.


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