Semana Santa - Holy Week

Our first view of the processions was from Olivia's balcony

We knew when we planned our trip to Spain that we would be visiting during Semana Santa, or Holy Week, but we really didn't know what that meant.  Olivia had told us that we would see processions, but we really didn't know what that meant.  We found out--on our very first night in Spain!

We arrived in Huelva in the late afternoon, took our suitcases in, and immediately went back out to go see Olivia's apartment.  Not an easy task!  The streets were so crowded that we couldn't get there.  We kept having to change directions, and walk through alleys, and push through crowds.  This was our introduction to Semana Santa.

We learned quickly that each afternoon during Semana Santa, traffic is closed off in the city centers, processions take over, and pueblos, towns, and cities are transformed.  First you hear the drums, then you see hundreds of people gathering in the streets, then you smell burning candles and incense.  Brass bands play very mournful music, and suddenly you’re in another world where people cover their faces, wear robes and pointy hoods, and carry floats with their necks and heads--all to commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. 

 The bands were amazing--mournful and moving.  Some had fancy uniforms and marched in formation.  Some wore suits and kind of ambled along.  And they all were so TOUCHING!

The incense was a little overwhelming.  The carriers swung gold (brass?) boxes back and forth so that the smoke filled the air.

Children would run out and try to get the candle carriers to drip wax in their hands, and they would form wax balls.  I guess the point was to see how big they could make the ball.    The guy on the right (above) was dripping his wax into his gloved hand into the shape of a peace sign.  Not sure he had a lot of serious intent, but maybe it meant something that I don't know about.

This man (left) wouldn't drip his wax for anybody, and he wouldn't talk to anybody.  He was very solemn, and was counting rosary beads as he walked in the procession.

The men (and sometimes women?) who wear the pointy hoods are called Nazarenos, which means “penitent ones”.  The cones (pointy hoods) symbolize “rising towards the heavens”, and are supposed to bring the wearer’s penitence closer to heaven.  The Nazarenos are part of the cofrades, or the religious associations that care for the images of Christ and Mary that are used in the processions.  They are members of religious fraternities and brotherhoods. 

Some men walk barefooted to show extra penance.  The processions go on all week long, but the penitents walk all night long on Thursday night.  We woke up on Friday morning to the sound of beating drums.

 Some walked barefooted, wore chains around their ankles, and carried a cross as Jesus did.

Children participate too.  There were even babies in strollers wearing the costumes.  (The potato chips cracked me up!  Walking all that way makes good little Catholic boys hungry!)

The costaleros are the ones in white who actually carry the extremely heavy floats on their shoulders and necks!  They practice for months to get the rhythm and speed right.  They wear rolled head scarves that help protect their skin so that it doesn’t get rubbed raw.  In this picture, they had stopped and were switching out costaleros.  This picture was taken from the balcony of our apartment, and this is what we woke up to on Good Friday.

We weren’t there to see the clean-up, but we did wonder what happens to all the wax from thousands of candles that is dripped on the streets during the processions!  I looked it up after we got home, and found out that each town has crews equipped with hot water pressure washers and cleaning supplies to get all that wax out of the brick, tile, and cobblestone cracks.   I guess it's a good way to get your streets cleaned at least once a year!

They also have to have extra crews to pick up the tons of trash left by so many visitors.  And extra crews for security.  And extra crews to whip the town in shape before Holy Week.  I think the expense is off-set by all the extra money being spent by the thousands of visitors each year.  It's a huge production!







There are also crews that set up seating along the main avenues and outside the cathedras.  Locals pay to have a good seat, and they reserve them WAY in advance.

Each elaborate float has either Jesus OR some version of the Virgin Mary.

The pictures just don't do them justice.

It's hard to explain how we felt being part of this Easter celebration.  Tim and I watched with tears in our eyes.  For some, I'm sure Semana Santa is a great holiday where children are excited because they are out of school for a week, and their parents are happy because they have a week away from work.  Families gather, and friends meet in restaurants until 2 AM when the processions have ended for the evening.  For some, it could simply be a tradition that may or may not have lost its meaning for them. 

For us, it was one of the most somber and thought-provoking Easter celebrations we have ever experienced!