Easter in Spain

Easter in Spain is a big deal. Easter is known as the Semana Santa and is a great festival in Spain. The celebration of Easter begins on Domingo de Ramos, Palm Sunday is ours, and finally finish Lunes de Pascua, is our Easter Monday.

Each, village town and village have their own individual ends Easter is usually a sad parade for the country or the city in a church. It 's a slow march with the men, with portraits andin costume, usually to the slow march of a drum beat. It is a great honour to carry these effigies of Christ or Mary and a painful experience, likened to the pain of Christ during his crucifixtion. The statues are very heavy and must be carried a long way.

The costumes can be rather daunting to a first timer. Long cloaks and masks with pointed hats and cut out slits for the eyes. However this is a religious celebration and has nothing at all to do with the Klu Klux Klan. Young children join in the celebrations. The procession will carry religious symbols with them as they walk through their towns. The large cities in Spain can have processions that will walk miles. Good places to travel to see these processions are Salamanca, Seville and Malaga.

The processions are not day time events. They usually start between 9-11pm. The main events taking place on the Friday and the Sunday. On Sunday the hoods come off to signify the resurrection. Many of the floats are old and valuable, and these events will be canceled if it rains. So, with luck and Spain, where it will be dry!