Colored carpets at Corpus Christi: a curious story full of tradition

It was the night of May 28, 1964, in the town of Elche de la Sierra, Albacete (Spain), when a group of ten young men left their homes in hidden and, patiently, covered the ground with chips dyed. of the tour that would make the procession of Corpus Christi the next day.

Rome hopes to receive 30 million pilgrims during the Jubileo de la Esperanza. Faithful from all over the world, from different dioceses and groups of different professions such as nurses, journalists, volunteers, young people and adolescents, as well as associations of all kinds, will travel to the eternal city to receive the grace of the Holy Year.

One of the groups that will participate in the jubilee is the International coordinator of Entities of Ephimer Art Alfobristsan entity that encompasses all peoples with a carpet tradition and whose peregrinación To Rome is scheduled for next February.

To this organization belongs the “Corpus carpet friends association”From Elche de la Sierra, in Spain. Its history, curious and little known, deserves to be told.

The origin of the “Corpus carpets”

After the feat of these young people, at dawn, colorful carpets decorated the streets of this corner of Spain. Without knowing it, this group of neighbors had begun what would become one of the most entrenched traditions in Castilla La Mancha.

The initiative arose from Francisco Carcelén, an inhabitant of Elche de la Sierra, who, when observing the flowers of flowers that were held in Barcelona during the feast of “The Eighth of the Lord”, was inspired to turn his town into a beautiful canvas.

To do this they used the chip of the nearby sawmills, which stained with the dyes that Carcelén used for their clothing business. Over the years, the chip was replaced by Serrín, which, although similar, is finer.

Serrin chips are small fragments or wood particles that are created when working with this material.

Since then, on the night prior to the solemnity of Corpus Christi, Elche de la Sierra celebrates the party of the “Serrín carpets”, in which the neighbors, divided into thirty “rock rocks”, create mosaics with religious scenes. About 600 people participate in the elaboration of these carpets, covering the streets throughout the night with designs that have been prepared for months.

Each group competes to achieve the most spectacular design, although these mosaics last just a few hours, due to the procession’s passage. In 1990, the Association of Serrin’s Carpets was founded and, today, there are A museum where the story of this tradition is told.

Although the custom of Serrín’s carpets was consolidated in the 1960s, the tradition of colored carpets, especially made during Holy Week, already previously existed in Spain. The Spaniards introduced it in countries in South America, such as Guatemala, Mexico or Peru, where it is still preserved.

The infioration In Italy

This tradition is also carried out in other countries, although with different materials. In Italy, for example, it is carried out the infioration, which can be translated as “decorated with flowers.”

This custom dates back to the 18th century, when Benedetto Drei, head of the Vatican Floría, and his son Pedro, decided Pablo.

Subsequently, it was the famous artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini who spread this tradition, which later extended to the Corpus Christi party, around 1778.

To commemorate this tradition, even today the Via Della Coniliazion infioration.