Forget about decorating eggs and egg hunts for Easter. We are in Spain and Easter is not celebrated like this. As a matter of fact, the week before Easter is more important than Easter itself.
Holy Week or "Semana Santa" is a really big deal in Spain. It is so popular that hotels are sold out months or some as much as a year in advance. People that own a balcony from which to view the processions, rent them out in exorbitant amounts. It is an outdoor event, so people take to the streets.
The scene is very difficult to describe. You have to actually experience one. During the week, a series of parades or processions take place. In these processions there is always a band performing a march that adds to the solemn mood in the air. The cities or town's various religious fraternities and brotherhoods "costaleros" carry ornate floats or "pasos" through the "barrios" or neighborhoods, and back to its originating church. These massive platforms are topped with scenes from the life of Jesus. The "nazarenos" who march in front wear a "capirote", a tall conical hood which conceals the face reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.
At the end of the procession, which can last hours, people go out for an "aperitivo" or snack (remember this is Spain!)
Of course there are no Easter baskets full of chocolate covered bunnies and eggs (although some are slowly making their way into the supermarkets), but it seems something more captivating and meaningful takes over the Spanish streets.
Holy Week or "Semana Santa" is a really big deal in Spain. It is so popular that hotels are sold out months or some as much as a year in advance. People that own a balcony from which to view the processions, rent them out in exorbitant amounts. It is an outdoor event, so people take to the streets.
The scene is very difficult to describe. You have to actually experience one. During the week, a series of parades or processions take place. In these processions there is always a band performing a march that adds to the solemn mood in the air. The cities or town's various religious fraternities and brotherhoods "costaleros" carry ornate floats or "pasos" through the "barrios" or neighborhoods, and back to its originating church. These massive platforms are topped with scenes from the life of Jesus. The "nazarenos" who march in front wear a "capirote", a tall conical hood which conceals the face reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.
At the end of the procession, which can last hours, people go out for an "aperitivo" or snack (remember this is Spain!)
Of course there are no Easter baskets full of chocolate covered bunnies and eggs (although some are slowly making their way into the supermarkets), but it seems something more captivating and meaningful takes over the Spanish streets.
Happy Easter!
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