May 3 -- The Day of the Cross

Earlier this week, there were celebrations in El Salvador of the Day of the Cross.   It is a tradition which blends a celebration of the Christian cross with thankfulness for the start of the rainy season and the rains which will make the ground fertile once again.   Blogger Alisha, who lives in Berlin, El Salvador, has a great post this week describing the celebration in her community.  Here's an excerpt:

When we arrived in Alejandría we first visited Blanca and Cecilia’s houses. Their families had both put out crosses of their own and decorated them. It was fun to see when other people’s crosses looked like. Blanca’s family had two crosses, both with mangos and real and paper flowers. We also saw Cecilia’s neighbor’s cross. She said there weren’t a lot of decorations on it but I thought it was beautiful. I loved the bougainvillea and green mangos that adorned the cross. The cross as Cecilia’s house, which I was told is Idalia’s cross, was very ornate. It had a plate of mangos in front of it and was decorated with several flowers from the garden. I love the flowers that grow here in El Salvador. I took pictures of several flowers at their house.

Next we made it to Jesus’ house. His mother, Lola, lives there and Jesus lives there occasionally because he usually lives and works at the church here in Berlín. The inside of their home was filled with flower arrangements. I have to hand it to the Salvadorans: they know how to use flowers in every way imaginable and they use them for everything. I’ve never been to a celebration here that didn’t have flowers and today was no exception. They create the most exquisite displays I’ve ever seen.

Go to Alisha's blog to read the rest of her description and see photos of the crosses and flowers.