“La Gritería” in Nicaragua is part of of the Novena, a nine day devotion leading up to the celebration of the Virgin Mary on December the 8th.
La Purísima (the Purest) is the name used in Nicaraguan to refer to the Virgin Mary herself as well as the festival that honors her.
However, in Nicaragua there is often a “party element” to most Catholic Church events and “La Purísima” is no exception with the “Gritería” being the highlight of the novena for the young and the young at heart.
“La Gritería”
La Gritería (an expression best translated into English as “the shouting” or “the screaming”) is a large community event held the night before the big day when family, friends and visitors come together under the theme of “Joy in the community”. They join in to share the expenses of being a host and to continue a tradition that has deep roots in the culture of Nicaragua.
In the early evening on the 7th of December, excited children gather with the adults before going out around the streets of the neighborhood in search of the houses that are acting as hosts. They will be carrying a plastic pail ready to receive traditional gifts of fruit, home-made candies, chunks of sugar cane and hand crafted local trinkets. Some of the tradition has been replaced by small mass produced and imported plastic toys. Either way, the recipients will be hoping to fill their special Purísima pail to the brim.
As the crowd moves around town going host to host, the shouting will be heard between songs being sung to María.
Someone will shout “Who causes so much joy? and the assembled crowd will answer in unison; “The Concepción of Mary”. (¿Quién causa tanta alegría? Y contestan: la Concepción de María).
Oh, and Fireworks, lots and lots of Fireworks!
The Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception, held in the season of Advent leading up to Christmas, often causes some confusion with the theologically challenged. It does not refer to the conception of Jesus, but to that of the conception of the Virgin Mary herself in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. This dogma was proclaimed by Pius IX on December 8th, 1854.
