I always think of it as a cross between China New Year with the fireworks exploding for hours, Christmas caroling with people going door-to-door singing songs about María and praying prayers to María, and Halloween with gifts handed out to the people who come to your house or shrine.
In 1994, our first year living here, we being the true newbies, were told by César, our Director of Projects, we should set up a Purísma shrine. Well, not being Catholic or Nicaraguan, we had no idea what to do.
“You put up a Mary down by the gate. You need to give some little food, and a little gift, like a toy,” he told us.
We had so little money. “For how many?” we asked.
“Oh, everyone will come expecting the gringos to do something…so 500.”
500! But we were up to the challenge! We popped and filled 500 little bags of popcorn. We went to the market and bought 500 little noisemakers…the toys were little the noise was LOUD! Henry and others from my English class came to help us set up our shrine.
The Purísma Marys are all very white skinned, dressed in blue, and have a halo. We didn’t know that then, so we pulled out our last Advent banner which has mother and child…Haitian mother and child on it.
“Whoa! You can’t use that!”
“Why not?”
“Well….hmmm…well…hmmm…she has a baby. Mary is a virgin.”
“But this is the only Mary we have.”
Then we could just see their resignation and the realization just how ignorant we really are…and like you say to a child who dressed herself for a party completely inappropriately but so proud… “This is great!” ….uh yeah.
So our banner went up, Henry et al, decorated our altar so, so prettily with flowers and palms and we got all set up. We stood with the Coury, age 5, and Daniel, age 2, at our gate in the middle of the countryside…the city then had not moved out to us…and we waited with great anticipation.
And we waited.
And we waited.
About 20 plus kids came from the cooperative next door. That was it.
The next morning….“Cé-é-é-é-sar. No. One. Came.”
“Well, of course not. You didn’t shoot up fireworks…they didn’t know you had an altar.”
Sigh. We too did not know.
We ate the 480 bags of popcorn. And since that time, we have just enjoyed OTHERS’ celebrations of Purísma. -- Kathleen
