Semana Santa (Holy Week in Spain)

Semana Santa, which is Spanish for “Holy Week,” is a traditional Christian celebration held in Spain in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. The celebration is noted for its colorful processions, distinct costumes, and heavy religious floats meant to commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Semana Santa originated in the sixteenth century and has evolved to be celebrated with some differences in the various regions of the nation. In some places, festivities are mainly joyous occasions, while in others, they are more solemn. They typically begin on Palm Sunday and last until Easter Sunday, but in some places, they can last for ten or more days.

Background

To Christians, Holy Week commemorates the final days of Jesus’ life on Earth. According to the Gospels, Jesus had spent the previous three years of his life preaching in Judea and Galilee and attracting numerous followers. On Palm Sunday, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, where he received a joyous welcome. Crowds of people turned out to greet him, waving palm branches and laying them at Jesus’ feet, welcoming him as the prophesied savior of the Jewish people.

On Thursday, a day known to Christians as Holy Thursday, Jesus gathered with his twelve Apostles to celebrate the Jewish feast of Passover. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to give his life to save humanity, so during this Last Supper, he was said to have offered his body and blood in the form of bread and wine, establishing the sacrament of Communion. Afterward, Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where they prayed, agonizing over the suffering Jesus was about to endure.

It was in the garden that Jesus was betrayed by the apostle Judas and arrested. On Good Friday, Jesus was put on trial, mocked, tortured, and eventually sentenced to death. He was forced to carry a wooden cross to the execution site, where he was nailed to the cross and left to die. After about three hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus died. His body was later removed and placed in a tomb. According to Christian belief, Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning, proving that he had conquered death and offering the hope of eternal life for all humanity.

Overview

The origins of Semana Santa date back to the sixteenth century as a way for the Catholic Church to present the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection to the public. The events were commemorated through elaborate street processions throughout Spain. A main figure in the development of the celebrations was the Spanish nobleman Marqués de Tarifa. After he returned from a trip to the Holy Land in 1521, the Marqués introduced the idea of the Stations of the Cross to Spain. The stations are a fourteen-step retelling of Jesus’ journey from his trial until he is laid in his tomb. The event was marked with a procession, which eventually evolved into separate reenactments of the scenes, complete with portable crosses and altars.

In the twenty-first century, Semana Santa is observed across Spain, but the celebrations do have some differences depending upon the region. In the southern region of Andalusia, the event is more joyous and colorful, while in the north-central region of Castile and León, it is more solemn and subdued. In Andalusia, the observances begin on Palm Sunday; in Castile and León, they start on the preceding Friday; and in the city of Toledo, they begin on the preceding Thursday.

All Semana Santa observances are marked by processions, which take place each day of the week. People parade through the streets, singing and beating drums and carrying religious floats, candles, and crosses. Members of religious brotherhoods wear robes with distinctive pointed hoods known as a capirote. These capirotes bear a resemblance to the white hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan in the United States; however, the capirotes are not symbols of hate. Instead, they represent mourning and repentance. The capirotes can also have a symbol that represents a specific brotherhood and can be red, purple, or other colors. Members of the brotherhoods also carry heavy floats that depict scenes of Jesus’ suffering and death and images of his mother, Mary, in mourning. These floats are very heavy and can be very difficult to carry. Those who do carry the floats are known as costaleros and consider it an honor. They view the suffering and pain they endure in the process as a way of honoring the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Some of these processions can go on for more than fourteen hours and last well into the night.

The processions and the celebrations change each day as Holy Week progresses. On Palm Sunday, or Domingo de Ramos, people carry palm or olive branches with them as they march to the city cathedral. Boys carry plain branches, while girls’ branches are adorned with ribbons or treats. The processions gain in importance as the week goes on. In many places on Holy Thursday, or Jueves Santo, church bells are silenced and will not be rung again until Easter morning. In the Andalusian capital of Seville, the night of Holy Thursday is the most spectacular celebration of Semana Santa, as every group begins a procession to the city’s cathedral.

Good Friday, or El Viernes Santo, is marked by fasting and more solemn processions as robed penitents carrying wooden crosses march through the streets. In Seville, people gather before the cathedral in the morning to remember the trial of Jesus and mark the events of the day as told in the Gospels. The tone of Semana Santa changes on Easter Sunday, or Pascua, as the processions become joyous, and music is once again added to the mix. The floats are decorated with flowers, and people celebrate the day with traditional feasts. Among the many foods eaten by the revelers are torrijas, honey-flavored bread dipped in milk and egg and fried in olive oil. Pestiños are pieces of fried dough that are flavored with orange and covered in sugar or honey.

Spain is not the only country that celebrates Semana Santa. Around the world, different countries and cultures celebrate the Holy Week. Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Colombia are renowned for their large processions and colorful traditions in Latin America. Celebrations can also be found in the Philippines, African countries, and pockets of communities in the United States, especially New Mexico. Semana Santa celebrations are not only religiously and culturally important, but they also attract tourism, which has a social and economic impact on countries.

Bibliography

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