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The crosses of May are celebrated on the 1st day of May till the first wee kend of this month. In this celebration, the Brotherhoods of the Holy Week, folk group and associates take part in the contest, where different prizes are given. It depends on the zone, modern or old,
or if it is enclosure or it is not.
We don’t know exactly its origin, although there are various hypotheses. Someone told that it was a Pagan celebration held during the month of May to celebrate the arrival of spring, where a young dressed in white and crowned with flowers was the
"Maya", referring to the month of flowers. However a lot of historians tell that the origin of the Crosses of May comes from the Roman celebration. In fact on the 3rd of May
Saint Helena found the Saint Cross and in  order to show that it was the authentic one, she put it on sick people and it cured them. On
Saint Helena‘s day of death she begged to the Christ believers to celebrate the day when the cross was found. Whatever its origin was, we do not know exactly when it began to take place this popular tradition. We know that it was in the XVIII and XIX centuries, and it was successful in many provinces. In some places the tradition is lost but in others it is still there.
In Cordoba the tradition is to prepare a big
Cross filled with a lot of flowers, and they tend to be w hite and red carnations. Around it a pretty scenery used to be with typical objects related to Andalusia: a guitar, a Cordovan hat, and a beautiful decoration, flowers pots. The flowers are essential elements in this tradition, as it is a celebration related to flowers, and all the festivals celebrated in the month of May in our city
have flowers.
Next to the Cross there is a bar where you can drink and eat typical
"tapas" (small plates of food to taste typical food). The traditional dishes are: the Salmorejo, fla menquin, or the Spanish Tortilla (potatoes omelette). For drinking: a cup of wine, a beer or something else. Besides you can dance and spend a nice time in good companionship.
There are more than 40 crosses around the city. The best one receives the first prize. In the category “Cross of the Ancient Section”, the first prizes have been for the Paz brotherhood and for the Misericordia brotherhood. In the category “Modern Cross” there have been three prizes for the folk group:
“Mi Copla por Bandera”, “Los Quijotes Cordobeses” and for the
“Neighborhood Association of Cañero Nuevo”. Finally the category "Cross into closed places", the prizes have been for the folk groups:
“los Emires”, the “Brotherhood of the Esperanza”
and for the “Neighborhood Association of the Palomera and AMPA Naranjo”. |
