The first time I realized that Easter was a pretty big holiday in Spain was in January when I talked to some of the teachers about my recent trip to the U.S. for Christmas break. One of the teachers asked if I was also going to go back to the states for Easter and I looked at her with a perplexed expression on my face. “Why would I go all the way back home for Easter?” I thought to myself. I told her that I wasn’t planning to and she also looked at me with a puzzled face. This was before I realized that we had an almost two-week Easter break from school and it was also before I realized how big this time of the year is to Spaniards.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I began to talk to one of the English teachers about Easter traditions in the states and those in Spain. Although I grew up in a Christian family, we never did anything spectacular to celebrate Easter. We did go to church on Easter Sundays, but we also went to church every Sunday and Wednesday; so this was no different. Whenever I think about Easter in the United States I think about how crowded the church became on Sunday, full of people who I hadn’t seen in a while. And everyone on Easter Sunday was always dressed to impress in their new “Easter outfits." Perhaps after church we would go out to eat as a family or my mother would cook a big meal and invite people over; but that was it. Sadly, my biggest Easter memory was on the Sunday before my 13th birthday, when I was so upset that all of the stores were closed because of Easter and I couldn’t buy a new birthday outfit.
Although my family was never really big on buying Easter baskets and things, I did tell the teacher about some popular Easter traditions in the states for kids, like going out on an Easter egg scavenger hunt, receiving baskets and candy from the Easter bunny, painting eggs and eating Peeps and jelly beans.
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| Valencia, Spain (Alberto Saiz/AP Photo) |
The teacher then began to tell me about Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Pascua (Easter) in Spain and after hearing about all of the Semana Santa processions and Easter traditions performed by the Spaniards, I was blown away by the information she shared and eager to experience Semana Santa in this country.
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| Opening Procession in Alicante |
During Holy week in Spain, street processions are organized in most city towns each evening from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. In the processions, men called costaleros carry around statues of saints on floats or wooden platforms. These men are joined by musicians and surrounded or followed by men dressed as Nazareños, people from Nazareth. The statues represent the fall and rise again of Jesus Christ. The processions on the first days are dedicated to the mourning of the death of Christ. The last day, Easter Sunday, is a day of celebration, when the people rejoice in the resurrection of Christ.
According to the information that the English teacher shared and from what I found out on my own when I researched this topic, here is a summary of what happens each day of Semana Santa:
Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday): Domingo de Ramos is the first day of Semana Santa. It is when most people go to church to celebrate the day when Jesus went to Jerusalem and was welcomed by people laying palm leaves on the ground in front of him. When people go to church on this day they carry a palm branch (ramo means branch) with them and the palm branch is blessed by the priest. Boys carry a plain branch and girls carry decorated branches.
This is also the day in which the processions begin and the costaleros carry around the floats, or pasos, of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
Fortunately, I was in Alicante during the first day of Holy Week, Palm Sunday. As my friend and I were walking along the explanada we came across one of the first processions of the day. I was immediately drawn to the men wearing costumes reminiscent of the uniforms that the Ku Klux Klan members in America wore. I knew however, that these costumes were not derogatory by any means (I remembered a scene in the Da Vinci Code movie where Professor Robert Langdon talked about them). During this procession, a group of men walked around slowly carrying a float on their shoulders containing a statue of the Virgin Mary (Watch the video).
Lunes Santo-Jueves Santo (Holy Monday-Thursday): throughout the entire week processions are held in the evenings in the town centers. There is a different theme each day and the Nazareños wear different colors based on that theme. On Holy Thursday, all of the church bells are tied together so that they remain silent. They don’t ring again until Easter Sunday. This silence is done to remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
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| Madrid, Spain (Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images) |
La Madrugá: This is the series of processions that begin on Thursday night and run all through the night until the next morning. This is one of the most popular nights of Semana Santa. Most people aren’t able to watch all of the processions of this day because of its duration.
Viernes Santo (Good Friday): On Friday, the Nazareños are dressed in all black. Also, the people do not eat meat, so the dishes on this day are made with fish and vegetables.
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| Zamora, Spain (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP Photo) |
Domingo de la Resurrección (Sunday of the Resurrection/Easter Sunday): This is the happiest day of the week. On this day, Easter Sunday, the hoods that have been worn throughout the entire week are taken off to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the costumes are white. One of the processions this day is called “Cristo de la Fe y del Perdón” (Christ of faith and forgiveness). I was told by the English teacher that the city performs an act of forgiveness by selecting one incarcerated person who doesn’t have a long jail sentence left and releasing him or her early. The procession on this day begins in the morning and finishes at the church in the center of the town. After the procession is over, many Spaniards go out into the streets to celebrate with beer and wine.
Lunes de Pasqua (Easter Monday): This is also one of the biggest days of the week. On this day, families go to the beach, park or other open area and have picnics. This is when most of the families eat the mona de pascua (which I talk about here) and also indulge in other typical Easter foods, like hornazos (a pie filled with pork, eggs and ham), cordero (lamb), paella, pestiños and torrijas. All businesses on this day, as well as on Friday and Sunday, are closed.
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| Cordoba, Spain (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) |
Although all Spanish towns and cities have these processions during Semana Santa, the most popular Semana Santa celebrations take place in the region of Andalucía Spain, particularly in Seville, and people from all over Spain and the world go there to participate in the celebrations.
Although I am not Catholic, I am extremely moved by the dedication that the Spaniards show during Semana Santa. The costaleros carry around heavy floats on their shoulders for hours at a time. In preparation for the Holy Week processions, they practice carrying the floats around months in advance so that their rhythm and speed is perfect for the processions. Although it’s more common for men to participate, many women and children also participate, which I’m sure is quite exhausting to them as well. The participants are very much devoted to their chores and the audience, for the most part, is very serious and reflective during the processions. To me, this is very admirable.
I must admit that it's also refreshing to see more of a religious side to Spaniards. Most of the Spaniards that I have come in contact with are religious; however they have openly admitted to me that they don’t practice their religion. I also believe that tradition plays a huge part in these Semana Santa celebrations. Although many Spaniards (that I've met) do not go to church often, or even pray often, they still prepare for Holy Week because it is a traditional and cultural norm; it’s something that they always did. Whether the reason is traditional or religious, one thing is for sure: Semana Santa is such a big part of Spanish culture and when I go back to the states, I will never look at Holy Week, or Easter, the same way.
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