Corpus Christi is the celebration of the Real Presence (all-caps a la Catholic theology) of Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist. In most places there seems to be a procession, much like the Stations of the Cross procession, but shorter.

It always rains on Corpus Christi. Such is the popular belief, and based on my experience in Poland, it seems to hold true — at least for Orawa, the area around Lipnica Wielka (as if Lipnica is the center of Orawa).

History

My friend explained the origins of Corpus Christi in most enlightening terms. Recalling that Protestants don't believe in the Real Presence (again, all-caps a la Catholic theology), he explained that the Catholics during Luther's time decided in one grand expression to show the Protestants just how much they believed it, so they made an entire festival dedicated to Jesus in "The Most Holy Sacrament" (again, all caps a la Catholic tradition).

Random Thoughts

I've always been both impressed and repulsed by seeing a whole street-ful (lacking a better term) of people kneeling, praying, and crossing themselves in unison. After the Corpus Christi pictured here, I wrote in my journal:

Whenever I see large groups of people acting in perfect unison like this, all in response to a single leader, I can't help but get nervous. All it takes is one leader with a twisted vision, and all this unity becomes an overwhelmingly destructive force.

Fortuantely, those who abuse this propensety toward acting in unison are few. (That's only half serious.)