As it has been established, Corpus Cristi is a religious celebration which centers on the sanctity of the Eucharist or rather the act of receiving the blood and body of Christ. This is one of the most significant and symbolic sacraments among Catholics. The Sacrament itself of receiving the Eucharist is what anthropologists would deem one of seven rites of passage in the Catholic religion. It is first offered to children once they have been educated and shown comprehension of Jesus Christ's purpose and ultimate sacrifice in his death.

In South American countries like Ecuador , Brazil , Chile , and Peru religion is the center of cultural tradition and social activities. According to Turner and Turner, religion is widely considered to have the three main traits of society, publicity, and a systematic nature where a set of beliefs and practices center on “intangible beings…which a human group recognizes as superior and enters into a relation with” (Turner and Turner: 201). This is especially true among the four aforementioned provinces of Ecuador that celebrate Corpus Cristi. The festival glorifies and displays appreciation for the sacrifice the Catholics believe Christ made.

The fashion in which Corpus Cristi is practiced seems ironic from many perspectives, especially most Western cultures like the U.S. Celebrations that are of an upbeat nature like Corpus Cristi are usually festivals of light hearted purposes. Most celebrations which commemorate the death of a hero or iconic figure involving martyrdom such as Corpus Cristi tend to consist of a solemn formality in many cultures of the world (Folklife and Renwick 1982). However, Corpus Cristi is centered around Christ who certainly died as a martyr, but possesses the constant theme of energy and seemingly excessive festivities.

In other respects, this Eucharist commemoration holds itself parallel to the many results of any global celebration. It displays the shared values of its patrons in an alternative form as a community. While Corpus Cristi shares many similar traits with other cultural celebrations around the globe, there is clearly a bold surge of creative art that it possesses which transforms and combines these traits. This is clear through the masks, costumes, music, dancing, and other elements that mix into the complexity of one religious celebration and dominate the festival as these elements do in many celebrations around the world (Dorson 1982c: 33).

Masks and face paint are widely used among Corpus Cristi participants. This is significant in any celebration because the face is thought to be the most revealing part of the person in terms of their emotions and mood (Folklife and Renwick 1982c: 62). The purpose of the mask is for the patrons to be able to play the role of a personality different from their own. The goal is to become whatever the mask is meant to symbolize. This reinforces the importance of straying from reality in Corpus Cristi . The masks give people the power to depart from their natural individuality towards a demeanor unlike themselves. This is known as what is the "sacra" of the festival. Sacra is an ancient Latin term used in religious celebrations which provides the ritual systems of a celebration where the participants are believed to change in nature and be transformed to another type of humanity (Turner and Turner: 204). For Corpus Cristi, the masks range from those of a bright solid color to others that depict an unnaturally animated face as shown in the figures above. Masks are somewhat of a metaphorical prop for Corpus Cristi patrons as its purpose as a celebration is to transform Ecuadorians daily life as well to a sort of fantasy ritual based on Christ.

The costumes themselves are the foundation of the festive nature for Corpus Cristi. With their variety in design, color, and symbolism, the costumes serve as the most critical form of cultural expression for each different province. As it does in many cultural celebrations around the world, the thick palette of color is representative of a religious ritual and persona, which in this case is Jesus Christ (Folklife and Renwick 1982c: 68). This resonates around the globe to Bali , Indonesia where every piece of clothing worn to the temples and religious events is bright and multi-colored. Even the offerings for their Buddhist gods, mostly consisting of food, are prepared by the women with the top priority of visual stimulation through color.

R.R. Marett, an anthropologist, said that the true message of a celebration is “danced out, not thought out” (Folklife and Renwick 1982c: 83). This certainly relates to the parades of Corpus Cristi, where dancing is equally as critical as the elaborate costumes, which combine together for the element of glorified praise in the celebration. It has been determined across several cultures, beyond South America, that dancing conveys knowledge of the secret thoughts and feelings of the patrons, which could never be effectively delivered in conversation or writing. Once again, the element of symbolism in a religious ritual is contributed to Corpus Cristi's purpose.

While the feasting and drinking of Corpus Cristi is directly linked to the Sacrament of the Eucharist in Catholicism, this aspect still holds this festival in common with many others. Just as the Eucharist is symbolic of Christ's body and blood, the act of feasting in most religious cultures represents a sort of well being in the community as well as some form of communication with the gods and deities(Folklife and Renwick 1982c: 84). The human group is essentially meant to be in a state of solidarity with their religious spirits as the feasting proceeds.