Prayer by Pope Pius XII
Almighty and eternal God, may your grace enkindle in all persons a love of the many unfortunate people whom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life
unworthy of human beings. Arouse in the hearts of those who call you God, a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
Grant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to souls, peace to our community and peace among nations.
Amen.
unworthy of human beings. Arouse in the hearts of those who call you God, a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
Grant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to souls, peace to our community and peace among nations.
Amen.
Nicaragua Flag
Nicaragua gained independence of Spain in 1821 and proceeded to join the then existing federation of the United Provinces of Central America. However, the federation began to dissolve seventeen years later and Nicaragua was left an independent state. The flag of Nicaragua was then adopted in August of 1971.
![Picture](/uploads/4/2/5/5/42550689/5511792.png?457)
Symbolism: The blue stripes of the Nicaragua flag represent two oceans: the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The white stripe in the middle is symbolic of peace. However, the modern day symbolism has changed from the original description. It is said that the blue represents justice and loyalty and white symbolizes purity and virtue.
The coat of arms in the white strip of the Nicaragua flag is made up of an equilateral triangle that stands for equality. Five volcanoes inside the triangle represent the five parts of the federation. Also inside the triangle is a red Phrygian cap, white rays and a rainbow. All this is symbolic of liberty and peace. The triangle is encircled by the words Republica de Nicaragua on the top and America Central on the bottom. The flag of Nicaragua is very similar to the flags of El Salvador and Honduras.
http://www.nicaragua.com/flag/
The coat of arms in the white strip of the Nicaragua flag is made up of an equilateral triangle that stands for equality. Five volcanoes inside the triangle represent the five parts of the federation. Also inside the triangle is a red Phrygian cap, white rays and a rainbow. All this is symbolic of liberty and peace. The triangle is encircled by the words Republica de Nicaragua on the top and America Central on the bottom. The flag of Nicaragua is very similar to the flags of El Salvador and Honduras.
http://www.nicaragua.com/flag/
Geography
![Picture](/uploads/4/2/5/5/42550689/2586196.jpg?1416372651)
Nicaragua is a country located in Central America to the south of Honduras, to the north of Costa Rica, and in between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the largest country by area in Central America and its capital and largest city is Managua. One quarter of the country's population lives in the city. Like many other countries in Central America, Nicaragua is known for its high levels of biodiversity and unique ecosystems. Its terrain is mostly coastal plains that eventually rise up to interior mountains. On the Pacific side of the country, there is a narrow coastal plain that is dotted with volcanoes. The climate of Nicaragua is typically considered tropical temperatures in the lowlands with cool temperatures in the higher elevations. However, Managua, has warm temperatures year round.
Nicaragua is well known for its biodiversity because the rainforest covers 7,722 square miles of the countries Caribbean lowlands. This country is the home to large cats such as the jaguar and the cougar, as well as primates such as insects and an immense amount of different plants.
http://geography.about.com/od/nicaraguamaps/a/nicaragua-geography.htm
Nicaragua is well known for its biodiversity because the rainforest covers 7,722 square miles of the countries Caribbean lowlands. This country is the home to large cats such as the jaguar and the cougar, as well as primates such as insects and an immense amount of different plants.
http://geography.about.com/od/nicaraguamaps/a/nicaragua-geography.htm
Demographics of Nicaragua
![Picture](/uploads/4/2/5/5/42550689/5388942.gif?1416375015)
Population: 6,100,000
Male Population: 2,839,168
Female Population: 2,836,188
Population Growth: 1.855%
Birth Rate: 24.12/1,000
Death Rate: 4.42/ 1,000
Infant Mortality Rate: 27.14/1,000
Life Expectancy: Around 71 years
Nationality: Nicaraguan
Ethnic Groups: Mestizo (69%), White (17%), Black (9%), Amerindian (5%)
Languages Spoken (most common to least common): Spanish, Miskito, Creole English, English, Chinese, Sumo, Sign Language, Garifuna, Arabic, Rama
Religions: Roman Catholic (58.5%), Evangelical (21.6%), Moravian (1.6%), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.9%), No Religion (15.7%), Other (1.6%)
Male Population: 2,839,168
Female Population: 2,836,188
Population Growth: 1.855%
Birth Rate: 24.12/1,000
Death Rate: 4.42/ 1,000
Infant Mortality Rate: 27.14/1,000
Life Expectancy: Around 71 years
Nationality: Nicaraguan
Ethnic Groups: Mestizo (69%), White (17%), Black (9%), Amerindian (5%)
Languages Spoken (most common to least common): Spanish, Miskito, Creole English, English, Chinese, Sumo, Sign Language, Garifuna, Arabic, Rama
Religions: Roman Catholic (58.5%), Evangelical (21.6%), Moravian (1.6%), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.9%), No Religion (15.7%), Other (1.6%)
Historical Timeline of Nicaragua
1522 - Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez de Avila names Nicaragua after a local Indian chief, Nicarao.
1523-24 - Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba completes conquest of Nicaragua.
17th-18th centuries - British plunder and extend their influence over the inhabitants of Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.
1821 - Nicaragua becomes independent, but is incorporated into the Mexican empire.
1823 - Nicaragua becomes part of the United Provinces of Central America, which also comprises Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Independence
1838 - Nicaragua becomes fully independent.
1860 - British cede control over the country's Caribbean coast to Nicaragua.
1893 - General Jose Santos Zelaya, a Liberal, seizes power and establishes dictatorship.
1909 - US troops help depose Zelaya.
1912-25 - US establishes military bases.
1927-33 - Guerrillas led by Augusto Cesar Sandino campaign against US military presence.
1934 - Sandino assassinated on the orders of the National Guard commander, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia.
Somoza family dictatorship
1937 - General Somoza elected president, heralding the start of a 44-year-long dictatorship by his family.
1956 - General Somoza assassinated, but is succeeded as president by his son, Luis Somoza Debayle.
1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded.
1967 - Luis Somoza dies and is succeeded as president by his brother, Anastasio Somoza.
1972 - Managua is devastated by an earthquake that kills between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
1978 - Assassination of the leader of the opposition Democratic Liberation Union, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, triggers general strike and brings together moderates and the FSLN in a united front to oust Somoza.
Sandinista revolution and US subversion
1979 - FSLN military offensive ends with the ouster of Somoza.
US-backed Contra rebels fought 10-year rebellion against Sandinistas
1980 - Somoza assassinated in Paraguay; FSLN government led by Daniel Ortega nationalises and turns into cooperatives lands held by the Somoza family.
1982 - US-sponsored attacks by Contra rebels based in Honduras begin; state of emergency declared.
1984 - Daniel Ortega elected president; US mines Nicaraguan harbours and is condemned by the World Court for doing so.
1987-88 - Nicaraguan leadership signs peace agreement and subsequently holds talks with Contra; hurricane leaves 180,000 people homeless.
Post-Sandinista era
1990 - US-backed centre-right National Opposition Union defeats FSLN in elections; Violeta Chamorro becomes president.
1992 - Earthquake renders 16,000 people homeless.
1996 - Arnoldo Aleman elected president.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch causes massive devastation. Some 3,000 people are killed and hundreds of thousands are left homeless.
2000 - FSLN win Managua municipal elections.
2001 November - Liberal party candidate Enrique Bolaños beats his Sandinista party counterpart, former president Daniel Ortega, in presidential election.
2002 March - Opposition Sandinista party re-elects Daniel Ortega as its leader despite his three consecutive defeats since 1990.
2002 August - Former president Arnoldo Aleman charged with money laundering, embezzlement during his term in office.
2003 December - Arnoldo Aleman jailed for 20 years for corruption. A year later he is transferred to house arrest.
Debts cleared
2004 January - World Bank wipes 80% of Nicaragua's debt to the institution. President Bolaños says it is the best news for the country in 25 years.
2004 July - Agreement with Russia to write-off Nicaragua's multi-billion-dollar Soviet-era debt.
2005 April - Rises in fuel prices and the cost of living trigger weeks of sometimes-violent street protests.
2005 June - The government and an opposition alliance, which controls Congress, become embroiled in a power struggle. OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza tries to mediate, without success.
2005 October - Political crisis eases as Congress agrees to delay constitutional reforms, which will weaken the powers of the president, until President Bolaños leaves office in 2007.
2006 April - Free trade deal with the US comes into effect. Nicaragua's Congress approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) in October 2005.
2006 October - President Bolaños unveils plans to build a new ship canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
MPs approve a tough new bill that bans abortions, including in cases where the mother's life is at risk.
2006 November - Ex-president Daniel Ortega is returned to power in elections.
2007 October - The International Court of Justice in the Hague settles a long-running territorial dispute between Honduras and Nicaragua.
2009 July - President Ortega announces plans to change the constitution to allow him to stand for another term in office.
2009 October - Constitutional Court lifts ban on president seeking re-election.
2010 November - Tension with Costa Rica over their disputed river border.
2010 December - President Ortega's government was financed by proceeds of the drugs trade, according to Wikileaks' US diplomatic cables.
2011 November - President Ortega is re-elected for another five-year term with a landslide victory in presidential elections.
2012 September - The San Cristobal volcano erupts, prompting the government to order the evacuation of thousands of people northwest of Managua. A powerful earthquake strikes neighbouring Costa Rica at the same time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1225283.stm
1523-24 - Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba completes conquest of Nicaragua.
17th-18th centuries - British plunder and extend their influence over the inhabitants of Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.
1821 - Nicaragua becomes independent, but is incorporated into the Mexican empire.
1823 - Nicaragua becomes part of the United Provinces of Central America, which also comprises Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Independence
1838 - Nicaragua becomes fully independent.
1860 - British cede control over the country's Caribbean coast to Nicaragua.
1893 - General Jose Santos Zelaya, a Liberal, seizes power and establishes dictatorship.
1909 - US troops help depose Zelaya.
1912-25 - US establishes military bases.
1927-33 - Guerrillas led by Augusto Cesar Sandino campaign against US military presence.
1934 - Sandino assassinated on the orders of the National Guard commander, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia.
Somoza family dictatorship
1937 - General Somoza elected president, heralding the start of a 44-year-long dictatorship by his family.
1956 - General Somoza assassinated, but is succeeded as president by his son, Luis Somoza Debayle.
1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded.
1967 - Luis Somoza dies and is succeeded as president by his brother, Anastasio Somoza.
1972 - Managua is devastated by an earthquake that kills between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
1978 - Assassination of the leader of the opposition Democratic Liberation Union, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, triggers general strike and brings together moderates and the FSLN in a united front to oust Somoza.
Sandinista revolution and US subversion
1979 - FSLN military offensive ends with the ouster of Somoza.
US-backed Contra rebels fought 10-year rebellion against Sandinistas
1980 - Somoza assassinated in Paraguay; FSLN government led by Daniel Ortega nationalises and turns into cooperatives lands held by the Somoza family.
1982 - US-sponsored attacks by Contra rebels based in Honduras begin; state of emergency declared.
1984 - Daniel Ortega elected president; US mines Nicaraguan harbours and is condemned by the World Court for doing so.
1987-88 - Nicaraguan leadership signs peace agreement and subsequently holds talks with Contra; hurricane leaves 180,000 people homeless.
Post-Sandinista era
1990 - US-backed centre-right National Opposition Union defeats FSLN in elections; Violeta Chamorro becomes president.
1992 - Earthquake renders 16,000 people homeless.
1996 - Arnoldo Aleman elected president.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch causes massive devastation. Some 3,000 people are killed and hundreds of thousands are left homeless.
2000 - FSLN win Managua municipal elections.
2001 November - Liberal party candidate Enrique Bolaños beats his Sandinista party counterpart, former president Daniel Ortega, in presidential election.
2002 March - Opposition Sandinista party re-elects Daniel Ortega as its leader despite his three consecutive defeats since 1990.
2002 August - Former president Arnoldo Aleman charged with money laundering, embezzlement during his term in office.
2003 December - Arnoldo Aleman jailed for 20 years for corruption. A year later he is transferred to house arrest.
Debts cleared
2004 January - World Bank wipes 80% of Nicaragua's debt to the institution. President Bolaños says it is the best news for the country in 25 years.
2004 July - Agreement with Russia to write-off Nicaragua's multi-billion-dollar Soviet-era debt.
2005 April - Rises in fuel prices and the cost of living trigger weeks of sometimes-violent street protests.
2005 June - The government and an opposition alliance, which controls Congress, become embroiled in a power struggle. OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza tries to mediate, without success.
2005 October - Political crisis eases as Congress agrees to delay constitutional reforms, which will weaken the powers of the president, until President Bolaños leaves office in 2007.
2006 April - Free trade deal with the US comes into effect. Nicaragua's Congress approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) in October 2005.
2006 October - President Bolaños unveils plans to build a new ship canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
MPs approve a tough new bill that bans abortions, including in cases where the mother's life is at risk.
2006 November - Ex-president Daniel Ortega is returned to power in elections.
2007 October - The International Court of Justice in the Hague settles a long-running territorial dispute between Honduras and Nicaragua.
2009 July - President Ortega announces plans to change the constitution to allow him to stand for another term in office.
2009 October - Constitutional Court lifts ban on president seeking re-election.
2010 November - Tension with Costa Rica over their disputed river border.
2010 December - President Ortega's government was financed by proceeds of the drugs trade, according to Wikileaks' US diplomatic cables.
2011 November - President Ortega is re-elected for another five-year term with a landslide victory in presidential elections.
2012 September - The San Cristobal volcano erupts, prompting the government to order the evacuation of thousands of people northwest of Managua. A powerful earthquake strikes neighbouring Costa Rica at the same time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1225283.stm
In conclusion, at least 270 people died in political violence between 1990 and 1994. Police, army, and Sandinistas killed former Contras, and northern Contra bands committed similar acts, often because of land disputes. Previously undeveloped tracts of rain forest are being cut down at an alarming pace to grow crops and gather fuel wood. Health care is suffering from shortages of food, medicine, and basic medical supplies. Malnutrition and tropical diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria, are serious problems.
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Nicaraguans.html
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Nicaraguans.html
Current Form of Government
![Picture](/uploads/4/2/5/5/42550689/3373244.jpg?375)
Today Nicaragua's government is considered a republic. It has an executive branch made up of a chief of state and a head of government, both of which are filled by the president and a legislative branch comprised of a unicameral National Assembly. Nicaragua's judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court. Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments and two autonomous regions for local administration.
http://geography.about.com/od/nicaraguamaps/a/nicaragua-geography.htm
http://geography.about.com/od/nicaraguamaps/a/nicaragua-geography.htm
Country Connections
Nicaragua has submitted three territorial disputes, one with Honduras another with Colombia, and the third with Costa Rica to the International Court of Justice for resolution.
At the 1994 Summit of the Americas, Nicaragua joined six Central American neighbors in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development, known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA, to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
Nicaragua belongs to the United Nations and several specialized and related agencies.
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Foreign_relations_of_Nicaragua.html
At the 1994 Summit of the Americas, Nicaragua joined six Central American neighbors in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development, known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA, to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
Nicaragua belongs to the United Nations and several specialized and related agencies.
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Foreign_relations_of_Nicaragua.html
Cultural Features
Major Holidays- La Purísima is the most important holiday in Nicaragua. This is a week-long celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception held around December 8. Elaborate altars to the Virgin Mary are built and decorated in homes and workplaces. People, especially children, go from altar to altar singing songs and reciting prayers.
The posadas are held on nine consecutive nights, ending on Christmas Eve (December 24). They are celebrated with nightly caroling processions commemorating the Holy Family's wanderings in search of shelter in Bethlehem. Holy Week (Easter) processions are common as well. The capital city, Managua, holds a fiesta (celebration) in honor of St. Dominic, the city's patron saint, in early August. Masaya has a feast to St. Jerome on September 30, complete with Indian dancers in costume. It also has a religious pilgrimage (journey) on March 16 to bless the waters of Lake Masaya.
Secular (nonreligious) holidays include Independence Day, September 15, commemorating the 1821 Central American declaration of independence from Spain; and Liberation Day, July 19, marking the 1979 overthrow of the government.
Culture Heritage- The marimba, a kind of xylophone, is popular in Nicaragua. In Masaya, the traditional capital of Nicaragua, the marimba is sometimes accompanied by the oboe, and a single-string bow with gourd resonator. In the east the music is typically Afro-Caribbean, played with banjos, accordions, guitars, and drums.
Traditional dance is more popular in Nicaragua than anywhere else in Central America. Dances often include masked characters, some pink and large-nosed, meant to mock the Spanish.
Traditions and Recreation- Fiestas (festivals) are an important part of public life. They include such events as cockfighting, bull-riding, and bull-baiting. Dancing in clubs is popular. Lobo Jack's in Managua is the largest disco in Central America. Most films shown in Nicaragua's theaters are in English, with Spanish subtitles. Even though the family is the most important unit of society, youth clubs for socializing are becoming more popular.
Food- Beans and corn tortillas are the basics of the Nicaraguan diet. The local form of the tamale is the nacatamal, wrapped in a banana-like leaf rather than a corn husk. In addition to cornmeal, the nacatamal may contain rice, tomatoes, potatoes, chili, cassava root, and a small piece of meat. The Christmas Eve meal consists of nacatamales with a special filling, along with sopa borracha (drunken soup)—slices of caramel or rice-flour cake covered with a rum-flavored syrup.
Meals usually last longer than they do in the United States, accompanied by pleasant conversation. The main meal is eaten at midday, often followed by a siesta, or afternoon rest during the hottest time of the day, when work is difficult.
Clothing- Typically women wear simple cotton dresses, while many men wear work shirts, jeans, sneakers or sandals, and straw hats. Even businessmen will often wear sport shirts, or leave off their jackets in hot weather in favor of the guayabera —a long cotton shirt.
Traditional dress for women varies. It may consist of a long, loose cotton skirt and short-sleeved cotton blouse, both brightly colored and embroidered. A shawl, jewelry, and flowers in the hair complete the outfit. (Women go barefoot.) For men, the native costume is blue cotton trousers, a long-sleeved collarless white cotton shirt, a sheathed machete (large knife) strapped to the waist, a straw hat, and sandals.
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Nicaraguans.html#ixzz3JUmREJ4E
The posadas are held on nine consecutive nights, ending on Christmas Eve (December 24). They are celebrated with nightly caroling processions commemorating the Holy Family's wanderings in search of shelter in Bethlehem. Holy Week (Easter) processions are common as well. The capital city, Managua, holds a fiesta (celebration) in honor of St. Dominic, the city's patron saint, in early August. Masaya has a feast to St. Jerome on September 30, complete with Indian dancers in costume. It also has a religious pilgrimage (journey) on March 16 to bless the waters of Lake Masaya.
Secular (nonreligious) holidays include Independence Day, September 15, commemorating the 1821 Central American declaration of independence from Spain; and Liberation Day, July 19, marking the 1979 overthrow of the government.
Culture Heritage- The marimba, a kind of xylophone, is popular in Nicaragua. In Masaya, the traditional capital of Nicaragua, the marimba is sometimes accompanied by the oboe, and a single-string bow with gourd resonator. In the east the music is typically Afro-Caribbean, played with banjos, accordions, guitars, and drums.
Traditional dance is more popular in Nicaragua than anywhere else in Central America. Dances often include masked characters, some pink and large-nosed, meant to mock the Spanish.
Traditions and Recreation- Fiestas (festivals) are an important part of public life. They include such events as cockfighting, bull-riding, and bull-baiting. Dancing in clubs is popular. Lobo Jack's in Managua is the largest disco in Central America. Most films shown in Nicaragua's theaters are in English, with Spanish subtitles. Even though the family is the most important unit of society, youth clubs for socializing are becoming more popular.
Food- Beans and corn tortillas are the basics of the Nicaraguan diet. The local form of the tamale is the nacatamal, wrapped in a banana-like leaf rather than a corn husk. In addition to cornmeal, the nacatamal may contain rice, tomatoes, potatoes, chili, cassava root, and a small piece of meat. The Christmas Eve meal consists of nacatamales with a special filling, along with sopa borracha (drunken soup)—slices of caramel or rice-flour cake covered with a rum-flavored syrup.
Meals usually last longer than they do in the United States, accompanied by pleasant conversation. The main meal is eaten at midday, often followed by a siesta, or afternoon rest during the hottest time of the day, when work is difficult.
Clothing- Typically women wear simple cotton dresses, while many men wear work shirts, jeans, sneakers or sandals, and straw hats. Even businessmen will often wear sport shirts, or leave off their jackets in hot weather in favor of the guayabera —a long cotton shirt.
Traditional dress for women varies. It may consist of a long, loose cotton skirt and short-sleeved cotton blouse, both brightly colored and embroidered. A shawl, jewelry, and flowers in the hair complete the outfit. (Women go barefoot.) For men, the native costume is blue cotton trousers, a long-sleeved collarless white cotton shirt, a sheathed machete (large knife) strapped to the waist, a straw hat, and sandals.
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Nicaraguans.html#ixzz3JUmREJ4E