Holidays and Celebrations

When considering a visit to Costa Rica, something important to take into consideration are the national holidays. It would be a shame to come when everything is closed. As mentioned before “Ticos” are rather religious people so most of their holidays are church related. For example, if plans include coming to visit the country during Holy Week, it is important to know that most of the countries offices, banks, courts, government offices, and many stores will be closed, and locals head for the beach and mountain spots to relax for an entire week. These mass migrations to the beach spots make finding a hotel very difficult and many times the rental car places will not have even a single car. This also happens during Christmas/New Year’s so plan ahead. These times of the year are also on record as the most expensive times to visit Costa Rica.

A list of major national holidays year round and a brief description:

• January 1st: New Year’s Day is celebrated outside San José, and the ones that decide to stay at home meet their families or go out to bars and wait together for the New Year to come.
• February 14th: San Valentine's Day. is celebrated all around the world "Ticos" celebrate “El día  Del Amor y la Amistad” (love and friendship day) taking their partners to dinner, sending flowers or exchanging chocolates or cards.
• Between March and April Easter Holy Week, Semana Santa: Dates change annually but businesses often close from Holy Thursday to Sunday. Most Catholic Churches will made religious processions in which they re-create dramatizations of Jesus' final days before being crucified.
• April 11th: Juan Santamaria Day. commemorates Costa Rica’s national hero who fought at the battle of Rivas against the American invader, William Walker, in 1856. The International Airport is named after him.
• May 1st: Labor Day. Dia de los Trabajadores. is the same as Labor Day in North America and every public and private sector employee has the day off.
• July 25th: Guanacaste Day. is celebrated for the annexation of Guanacaste from Nicaragua in 1824. Highlights usually include bullfights, rodeos, dancing, topes, and other parades and parties all around the province.
• August 15th: Mother’s Day. is surprisingly a major national holiday where all the locals have off work to go and be with their mothers.
• September 15th: Independence Day. big patriotic parades celebrate Costa Rica’s independence from Spain in 1821. Everything is closed including some streets. High school bands commemorate marching and playing national songs, and the country is decorated with blue, red, and white hand-made crafts, little flags and “faroles” (kind of paper lanterns lighted with candles). It is a day of large community celebrations.

Activities:

Anna:
“I’m planning my holiday for next summer and I don’t know whether I should have a lazy holiday or an exciting one. Last year I went on holiday to southern Spain with my best friends, Joanna and Ling. We stayed in a brilliant four‐star hotel, which had three swimming pools. It was quite expensive but we really enjoyed ourselves and we all got great suntans! This year, Joanna is going away with her parents to Greece so it’ll be just Ling and me. Ling wants us to go on an adventure holiday in Africa, the type where you have to go walking in the desert and sleep out in the open. She said it would be interesting and better than having a lazy holiday because we would learn about the world around us and see some wild animals. I’m not sure whether I want to go to Africa. For me, a holiday means relaxing on a beach, not trekking across the middle of nowhere. Ling said that we’d see elephants and zebras and have some amazing experiences. I think she’s bored of lying in the sun all day and fancies a change. I’ve got to make up my mind by next Monday at the latest so that she can book the tickets. It would cost £1,400 each to go to Africa, but less than half that amount for two weeks in Portugal.”
Questions:
1. When is Anna going on holiday?
2. Name her two closest friends.
3. True or false – last year she went to northern Spain?
4. How many swimming pools did their hotel have?
5. Was the hotel expensive?
6. True or false – only Anna got a good suntan?
7. Where is Joanna going on holiday this year?
8. Who is she going with?
9. What type of holiday does Ling want this year?
10. Where does she want to go?



PUZZLE ACTIVITY

More about some holidays...