When I was small, the year revolved around events of the 14th and 15th of September. Just as we looked forward to Christmas, the anticipation of the lantern parade, and the processions for Independence Day would leave me unable to sleep. I enjoyed walking through town with my handmade paper lantern, lit precariously with a candle flame, after taking hours to cut, paste and fold layers of red, blue and white crepe paper onto my cardboard house or ox-cart.

The real highlight for my classmates and I was to put on our brand new band uniform in the colors of the year with a haircut for the occasion and my mother having scrubbed my face shiny to debut as one of the drummers. We practiced for hours to perfect our rhythms and to march together in unison just for this one day of celebrations. I’d pour with sweat in the blazing sun as the drum strap dug into my back and my hands blistered, as I hammered away with my wooden drum sticks, but I adored every second.

Every year we celebrate our independence from Spain with a countrywide celebration (Dia de la Independencia), starring the school children of our nation, marching valiantly through the streets.

The festivities begin on September 14 with the Desfile de Faroles (The Lantern Parade). Every year at 6pm, just as it gets dark, school children turn out in their town squares all over the country with their homemade creations made out of recycled materials; cardboard, plastic bottles, milk cartons, etc. which they creatively change into traditional houses, oxcarts or lanterns. They sing the national anthem, light their candles and brighten up the night; a tradition that symbolizes the news of independence traveling to Costa Rica.

Every Costa Rican remembers having to come up with their ideas for their lanterns, with prizes granted for the most creative creations. Competition can be stiff as people go to great lengths to recreate the little gardens around their cardboard houses, or a stove for cooking tortillas with a stacked woodpile in painstaking detail.

It is said that the original lantern tradition came from Guatemala when a woman by the name of Maria Polares Bedoya from Antigua. She took to the streets with her lantern calling to the townspeople to gather in the town plaza where a meeting was being held to decide on independence. They stayed all night long with lanterns a blaze in the night until the politicians greeted the crowd with the news they wanted to hear.

The tradition got somewhat lost in Costa Rica until efforts in 1948 when teachers were asked to encourage their students to make the homemade lanterns and offer prizes for the most creative ones. Then in 1953, the Director of the San Jose school system declared that September 14 at 6pm of every year would be the official time for Lantern Parades and it has remained a countrywide tradition ever since.

The 15th is also a big holiday for Costa Ricans and everyone must look their best. Women done, carefully coordinated in red, blue and white outfits, with nails, hair and earrings to match and everyone lines the parade route looking on proudly and waving their flags.

Each school puts on a show with representatives in traje tipico (traditional dress) from their region. Girls have long skirts of red, blue and white which they wave back and forth majestically to the rhythm of the music, and the boys wear straw hats, starched white shirts and red bandanas around their necks. Each band, dressed in their freshly ironed uniforms, with heads held high has a chance to stop and perform their hearts out, whether it be waving banners, flags or playing instruments for the applauding audience. The band members practice for months after school in preparation for this day, honing their songs and coordinating their dance moves. They march on, sometimes in blistering sun in rank and file as their parents and teachers pass them cold water and confites (hard candies) to urge them on. At the end of the march, a competition is held for the best band in each region.

The streets are lined with vendors selling tamales, arroz con leche (rice pudding), patacones (fried plantains) and fried yucca stuffed with ground beef, icy cold coconuts and other traditional foods.

A brief timeline of the struggles towards Freedom:

• Costa Rica was under Spanish rule in the sixteenth century (1500s), with Guatemala being the regent’s seat.
• Following the Mexican War, September 15, 1821 became the date of independence for the rest of the Central American colonies.
• Battle of Ochomogo (Costa Rica’s First Civil War) in 1823 decided the new capital of Costa Rica would be San Jose.
• Joined the Federation Republic of Central America, but by 1838, Costa Rica left.
• Became officially independent in 1840.

So although September 15 is the official date, it was really the beginning of the process towards true independence.

These Independence Day parades and the tradition of Desfile de Faroles instill in us a feeling of unity and national pride in being Costa Rican. Why not join us for the celebration? Festivities begin on the 14th of September with the Lantern Parade at 6pm all over the country. You can pick up a readymade lantern quite easily, for example in the Central Market in San Jose. Grab some flags and a traditional hat and join in the fun. Festivities begin early on the 15th so get your secure parking spot early and be advised that most of the main roads through towns will be temporarily closed for the parade. Experience Pura Vida through the most exciting day for a Costa Rican child — and their parents.