Top 10 Costa Rica Traditions

Christmas is one of the most famous holidays in Costa Rica. As a family-oriented country, Christmas is a time full of reconnection and generosity. Costa Ricans will make an effort to reunite with loved ones even when living far away from each other to celebrate. Many Costa Ricans also go to the beach in December for Christmas, when the dry season is just starting, everything is lush, and the days are sunny. Perfect family time! At home, ornaments and lights are placed everywhere, bringing jolliness to the season. Santa Clauses, reindeer, and Christmas trees are common, but a famous alternative is adorned palm trees. You’ll also find many Nativity Scenes strategically placed for exhibition.

Food is an important part of Christmas too. Most families and friends will gather together on the night of December 24th for a big dinner. Music, dancing, drinks, and delicious dishes will be out for that day. Often, people barbecue meat in their yard, tamales are passed around, and homemade rompope (eggnog) is served for toasting. Many people will also exchange gifts on this night, others will wait until the 25th. Children, especially, wake up on the morning of the 25th to find their wrapped presents under a Christmas tree or next to the Nativity Scene. Many of them take their new presents to the Christmas Mass to be blessed by the priest in a special ceremony. In Costa Rica, many parents tell children Baby Jesus brings presents, but the Santa Claus story is beginning to stick, too.

New Year’s Eve/January 1st is also a big event in Costa Rica. Most consider that if Christmas is for family, New Year’s is for friends. The big parties with loud music and lots of enjoyment happen on this day. Many festivals and bars have special activities for the occasion, with concerts and dancing floors active all night long. The countdown is traditional, as are fireworks. Food is equally important. Big meat cuts or another round of BBQ are common setups.

Once midnight strikes, some Costa Ricans will eat 12 grapes for good luck. Others pack a suitcase and run around their house or block: this supposedly makes it more likely for the runner to travel or go on vacation that year. Another rather obscure tradition is to pick a very special type of flower. The wild violet flower known as Santa Lucía in Costa Rica—billygoat-weed in English (Ageratum conyzoides)—is said to bring good luck. If you pick some of these flowers on January 1st and keep them in your wallet, folklore says you’ll always have enough money that year.

Costa Rica celebrates Independence Day on September 15th, along with other Central American countries that received it on the same day. Throughout the month, you’ll see ornaments in different places—private businesses, schools, households, and even some public trains or buses join the celebration. Patriotic symbols like the country’s flag, coat of arms, and national hymn are displayed in what are called rincones patrios (“patriotic corners”).

You’ll also find traditional clothes and relevant food, plants, and animals. These include coffee beans, Costa Rica’s most famous produce; the national flower, the orchid known as guaria morada (Guarianthe skinneri); and the national bird, the yigüirro (Turdus gray). Special presentations with traditional dances and assemblies are organized in schools as well.

The main event is the Desfile de la Independencia, the Independence Parade. Schools and other institutions prepare for this months in advance. Bands practice, dancers rehearse, and special uniforms are commissioned. Kids and adults of all ages march on the morning of September 15th and showcase their talents, celebrating the day with loud music and lots of energy.  There are other activities including concerts, fairs, and the Desfile de Faroles, another favorite.

Costa Rica is a primarily Catholic culture, and Holy Week is one of the country’s major religious holidays. Public institutions often close for the whole week and students have time off school. For many, Easter is usually synonymous with vacations. Costa Ricans flock to the beach at this time—especially to Manuel Antonio, Jacó, and Guanacaste. Here, they camp near the ocean or stay at hotels to rest, spend time with family and friends, or go partying.

Those who participate in religious observance have a busy schedule, too. The main events take place on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Small towns and big cities all have a version of the same tradition. During these three days, members of the community reenact the events of the Bible pertaining to the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. Good Friday has the most important reenactment, as the community, directed by a priest, follows the actors around the neighborhood, praying as Jesus goes to the cross. Depending on the location, these processions have high production values or are shown on TV. Sometimes, where people are less inclined to participate, actors are replaced by statues.

Costa Rica celebrates Mother’s Day on August 15th every year. Not only is Costa Rica a family-oriented culture, but mothers are particularly important for Ticos. They are seen as honorable and wise, and they are often the epicenter of most family groups and celebrations. Many consider that personally taking care of your mother is a sign of a good person. Because Mother’s Day is such a big celebration in Costa Rica, it’s a paid holiday. Most businesses, restaurants, and institutions will do something special for the occasion. Concerts, gifts, and fast sales are just examples. Children handcraft or buy mementos at school to give to their mothers on the special date. Everyone does their best on this day to pamper the mothers in their lives!

A tamaleada is the occasion when a family or group gets together to make that year’s tamales. This usually happens early in December, and the tamales must last until at least New Year’s Eve. There must be enough tamales to share with the group and their families. It’s a long and tiring job, often requiring a day or more. Many hands are needed to perform its many steps: picking and grilling banana leaves, seasoning and preparing the special masa, arranging the toppings, and putting it all together to cook takes as many people as are available in the house.

The operation is overseen by the eldest and most knowledgeable members of the group (often women), who will instruct the younger ones and pass down all the cooking secrets. A common joke is that the “useless” members of the group are assigned the simple tasks of adding toppings or cleaning the banana leaves, since the most skilled always get the trickiest and most prestigious jobs. Music, gossip, and laughter are part of the best tamaleadas as well. It’s an occasion to spend time together with loved ones, have fun, make memories, and pass down traditions.

Many households build their Nativity Scene at Christmas. Called pasitos in Costa Rica, these are often family heirlooms passed down or gifted to people who’ve gotten a new house for the first time. They might be very small figurines or almost life-sized replicas, but the objective is still the same: to represent the moment of birth of Jesus Christ. Most families adorn these Nativities as much as they can. Little houses and other ornaments are sold for this, but people also employ materials such as sand, moss, rocks, treebark, paper, and paint to recreate the scene. Often, children add their own touch, and mismatching elements like toy cars or dolls will sneakily show up in the pasito. Many businesses also put up their own Nativities to honor this tradition. Frequently, the little figurine representing Baby Jesus does not make an appearance until December 24th or 25th, when He’s born.

The Rezo del Niño translates literally to the “Child’s Prayer,” and it’s the culmination of the Nativity Scene celebrations. The Nativity isn’t taken down until about a week into January, when the house organizes a community gathering to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wisemen and to pray for the year ahead. Thanks are given, blessings are requested, and religious songs fill the night. Finally, food passes around and the Rezo del Niño has been completed! Now the family can take off the Nativity Scene and put it away safely until next December, with a newly blessed house.

August 2nd sees another religious tradition in Costa Rica. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is located in Cartago, Costa Rica’s former capital city and oldest colonial town. There is a story here that says that the Virgin Mary appeared before an Indigenous girl, taking the shape of a humble carved rock resting on a river stone. The girl called it her “little doll” and took it home. However, whenever the doll was removed, it reappeared in the same spot the next day. Soon it was understood that the Virgin Mary meant for the area to be a place of worship, and the Cathedral was built on top of it.

To this day, the cathedral is the destination of a long pilgrimage, called the Romería. Devotees walk from different parts of Costa Rica and beyond, hiking all the way to Cartago. This is to either give thanks, ask for favors, or show devotion. For weeks before August 2nd, you’ll see travelers by the side of the road on their way to Cartago. Many resting spots and medical stations are also placed on the major routes to help devotees when they need it. It’s a big event which culminates with massive celebrations. August 2nd is usually a free day, because of the amount of people who take over the streets. They often stop traffic!

Oxcarts were an important tool for Costa Rican workers, especially in the 1800s. Farmers would use oxcarts to carry their harvests far distances (especially coffee) or transport their families from one place to another. Built by combining technologies of both Indigenous and European origin, folkloric oxcarts have been recorded by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In the early 1900s, oxcart owners began painting their carts and adorning their oxen with colorful paints, flower patterns, fabrics, and other elements. With time, oxcart parades began popping up as part of larger celebrations. Today, oxcart owners, known as boyeros, celebrate their traditions with a couple of big parades a year, with National Boyero Day taking place on the second Sunday of March. The colorful oxcart is a national symbol of Costa Rica, representing the country’s workforce, their farming roots, and their tireless efforts to move forward.

Tambito is a type of folkloric music developed mostly in the area of Guanacaste. It has influences from Indigenous, European, and African rhythms and instruments, all combined to make it uniquely Costa Rican. Many consider it the country’s national rhythm, and it’s very common to see dancing groups in full traditional attire performing this for cultural events. The punto guanacasteco is a type of folkloric dance also developed in the area of Guanacaste. It’s Costa Rica’s national dance, and it’s characterized by a strong instrumental presence with no lyrics. From time to time, the dance will stop so the dancers can yell at full strength a ¡bomba!, and that’s how you know the fun has really started.

Traditional bombas are short, funny declamations that follow a similar structure and rhyme, ending always with the traditional cry of “¡uyuyuy bajura!” The purpose of a bomba is to make the crowd laugh with a clever twist in as few words as possible, usually regarding romantic love or some mischief. Kids are often encouraged to enter bomba competitions at school during September for the patriotic celebrations, to see who has the funniest one. It’s a way to keep this historical form of comedy alive.

Bomba translates literally to “bomb,” but it refers to a specific type of traditional firework that makes a small explosion and causes a lot of noise. When you hear someone yelling “¡bomba!”, you know they’re announcing the cheeky rhyme that will follow and the “noise” it will create among the attendees. The expression at the end, uyuyuy bajura,is very old and used to express joy. It’s likely that bajura was originally used to remark that something felt uniquely from the Nicoya Peninsula, in Guanacaste. But now it’s part of the rhyme that accompanies traditional songs, dances, and other celebrations.

Every year, around New Year’s, festivals and fiestas organize bull riding events, simply known as toros, and horse parades known as topes. These traditional games go back to Costa Rica’s cattle farming culture. The bull riding events have a particularly unique appeal for most: to see the participants scraping to get away from the bull rather than to see how long a rider stays on top. It’s a tradition where casual participants get to be made fun of, rather than the bull.

Topes are perfect opportunities for horse riders to showcase their skills as horse trainers. The parades take over the streets, with people gathering to admire the beautiful animals, see them performing tricks, and celebrate the winners of the parade. Taking care of bulls and horses is a resource-consuming job, so these events are an opportunity for cattle farmers to show off their dedication to their animals and the best of their stock.

The Carnaval de Limón, as is known in Costa Rica, is a week-long celebration of the Caribbean coast’s culture, music, and people. It’s often called “the Pearl of the Caribbean,” and is probably the most popular festival in the entire country. It always happens near October 12th, which was once called Columbus Day but is now known as Cultures Day (because of the clash of cultures upon the Spaniards’ arrival). This combination of cultural roots is nowhere as visible as in the carnival: Indigenous, Afro-Caribbean, and European styles have morphed into Costa Rica’s Limón City.

The main event is the big parade of the carnival. Comparsas (traditional marching bands), floats, beauty queens, and brightly colored costumes are all part of the parade. The participants dance and dance to loud tropical music, including calypso, samba, and salsa. Limón’s Carnival also showcases delicious food, concerts, local artists, and even sports events. It’s a time to celebrate and rejoice.

Independence Day has many activities and some of the most memorable take place in schools. One of these events is the Antorcha de la Independencia (“Independence Torch”). This torch is lit up in Guatemala and passed from hand to hand all the way to Costa Rica. It represents the independence news traveling through Central America. The torch is exclusively carried by children and teenagers, chosen by their schools as representatives, each of them covering a small portion of the journey. It symbolizes that freedom is a hard-won gift for the future generations.

Another event is the Desfile de Faroles (“Lanterns Parade”), a favorite among schoolchildren. This parade takes place on the evening of September 14th. Children (and their parents) build ornamental lanterns with all kinds of shapes, such as houses, national symbols, pets, or trees. These handmade lanterns are made to be lit from the inside with candles. Children then take their lanterns on a parade around the neighborhood, in a beautiful display of light fending off the darkness. It symbolizes the wait for news of independence back in the 1820s, when many would stay up all night lighting the roads, hoping the news would arrive soon.

A cimarrona is a traditional type of marching band, composed of wind and percussion instruments. They’ve been part of parties and festivals for generations, bringing cheer and joy wherever they show up. They are not often alone. Usually, a cimarrona heralds the presence of the mascarada as well. A traditional mascarada is made up of people who dress up with giant handmade masks, designed to go over their torso. They have long dresses to cover the rest of the body, and the members of the mascarada can then march along with the cimarrona and dance in anonymity.

Mascaradas also have flappy hands attached so they twirl with the dancer. Another tradition for mascaradas is to chase the children (but also grown-ups, if they’re nearby) who try to bother them or figure out their identities. If the public can remove a mascarada’s mask, they’ve won! But it’s not easy. Mascaradas usually carry long sticks or other similar things to hit the people they pursue. It’s entirely a game, and everyone involved is happy to play, but in recent years hitting has been exclusively reduced to chasing.

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