Monday 9 July 2007
Today is Argentina's Independence Day! The holiday itself has the feel of a bank holiday, of just another day off, probably because it's in the middle of winter. Nothing like Fourth of July.
But Ryan and I braved the cold and went down to Plaza Congreso to see the ceremony. This is a picture of the flag-raising, which turned out to be a very religious event. Before they raised it they said a very very long prayer to Mary, asking for peace and whatnot, and asking all the different Virgens to pray for them. They even blessed the flag with holy water! Lots of signs of the cross and a Hail Mary later, the flag finally went up. It was the most religious national ceremony I've ever seen.
We also had some churros and chocolate (nothing like a traditional Spanish dish to celebrate independence from Spain!) and the band played, lots of groups marched, some high school kids carried flags, gauchos danced, it was quite the parade.
But Ryan and I braved the cold and went down to Plaza Congreso to see the ceremony. This is a picture of the flag-raising, which turned out to be a very religious event. Before they raised it they said a very very long prayer to Mary, asking for peace and whatnot, and asking all the different Virgens to pray for them. They even blessed the flag with holy water! Lots of signs of the cross and a Hail Mary later, the flag finally went up. It was the most religious national ceremony I've ever seen.
We also had some churros and chocolate (nothing like a traditional Spanish dish to celebrate independence from Spain!) and the band played, lots of groups marched, some high school kids carried flags, gauchos danced, it was quite the parade.
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