This Friday, May 3, marks the Day of the Holy Cross, also known by many as the Day of the Bricklayer. Although in recent years the celebration had declined, especially due to the problems derived from the health emergency that occurred from 2019 to 2022, that old custom of placing a cross on works that are under construction has been recovered. .
Read more: The Holy Cross: 300 years it was not taken into account: Vicario
Often, workers suspend activities a little earlier than usual and celebrate in different ways. In the case of Mexico, this celebration has its origin in the Christian Faith, and its main objective is to venerate the cross, as the highest symbol of Catholic Christianity. The celebrations in Mexico take place mainly in indigenous communities and syncretism is shown, in addition to remembering the discovery of the cross, in the Catholic sense.
It is also important to mention that the Cross became the patron saint of bricklayers and masonry laborers. For this reason, it is customary to place a Cross decorated with natural or paper flowers at the top of house buildings under construction. At the local level, this Friday a special celebration was held in the parish that is precisely named La Santa Cruz.
For this reason, throughout the day, hundreds of parishioners came with devotion and fervor to celebrate the Holy Cross to the sound of mariachis, who, like every year, are present to offer the mañanitas. The first Eucharistic celebration today was led by priests Renzo Arévalo López, parish priest, and Arturo Jiménez Palma, parochial vicar, and was offered for all construction workers, bricklayers, architects and engineers, for all the people who bear the name. of Cruz.
Origin of these festivities
According to the Catholic religion, the Day of the Holy Cross, which refers to the wooden cross where Jesus of Nazareth died, is celebrated on May 3 because exactly on that date, but in the year 326, the discovery took place.
The discovery corresponds to Helena, wife of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine. Empress Helen of Constantinople (250-329) traveled to Jerusalem to search for the cross where Jesus had died. To do this, she ordered excavations in the area where Mount Calvary was located, and on May 3, 326, she found three crosses, although other sources indicate that they were three old pieces of wood.
To find out which was the true cross, he placed each of the crosses near a person who had just died and, by miracle, the dead person was resurrected when the third cross was brought to him: the true relic. Other narratives speak of the miracle of a sick person who regained health.
On the other hand, May 3 is also the date on which we celebrate Bricklayer’s Day. Although there is no official version of the origin of this tradition, various sources indicate that everything refers to the syncretism that took place in our society after the Conquest. Around this time, some pre-Hispanic peoples made ceremonies and sacrifices to request good harvests for the year. And after evangelization, this agricultural custom was mixed with Christian beliefs and people began to pray to the Holy Cross for these benefits.
Over time, many of the peasants left the agricultural culture, and migrated to the cities to work as bricklayers. However, they preserved certain traditions: for example, entrusting themselves to the Holy Cross, no longer for a good harvest, but to avoid suffering accidents or falls at work. For this reason, in almost all buildings in our country there is always a wooden cross, decorated with colored paper or ribbons.
