There are no salt carpets this year
12 june 2020
The Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic host, is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and takes place eight weeks after Maundy Thursday. It was declared a feast day by Pope Urban IV in 1264.
In some countries, the day is a holy day of obligation with the faithful joining in the celebration of Mass. On that day or on the following Sunday, which is the feast day where it is not a holy day of obligation, it is traditional to have a procession on the streets, the host carried by the parish priest, and here in Adeje this procession usually takes place over coloured carpets of salt, made the day before by groups and associations of the Adeje public – and in recent years the Adeje Focus group of international residents have taken part in the event. It should be happening this weekend, but, as with so many annual events, it has been cancelled to protect the public from any potential infection.
The celebration of Corpus Christi in Adeje is linked, as are so many things with historical roots in the town, to the Ponte family, in particular Juan Bautista de Ponte, who ordered that there be a celebration of the feast day in 1620, with 6 days of sung masses. Taking part in activities too were the ‘Hermandad del Santisimo’, one of the oldest of these confraternities in the borough and still going strong today.
When historians update the history of the celebration of Corpus Christi in Adeje, 2020 will be mentioned as a year when we, the local residents, were not able to take part in what is a very social issue, one that promotes integration and friendships, but hopefully we and the carpets will be back on the streets for Corpus Christi in 2021.
