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 In a land known for its
deep-rooted religious beliefs and traditions, there is no religious
occasion more fervently celebrated in Spain than the Holy Week,
or Semana Santa.
Every year, hundreds of thousands come to this devoutly Roman
Catholic county to witness the spectacle and enduring traditions of
the people, as they mark the most important day in the Christian
calendar.
The traditions of Semana Santa
in Seville
Semana Santa commemorates the death of Christ, and celebrates his
Resurrection, his triumph over death. The occasion is observed in
every corner of Spain, but it is most exuberantly celebrated in the
South, particularly in the cities of Cuenca, Valladolid, Murcia,
Zamora, Malaga, Cordoba and Sevilla, or Seville. Every city, town
and village has its Holy Week celebrations, but for many, no city
celebrates the occasion more memorably than Sevilla, or Seville.
Though there are many traditions attached to Semana Santa,
the most iconic ceremony is a street procession which
commemorates the Passion of Christ. In Seville, this takes the form
of a solemn parade of religious art icons known as tronos
throughout the city each evening, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday,
to be devoutly and respectfully admired by populace. The processions
are usually held at night and traditionally lit by torchlight,
adding an air of medieval mystery to the solemn proceedings. In some
places, the processions are accompanied by musicians, whose music
sounds out in sharp contrast to the silence of the black-clad
crowds, as they grieve for the loss of the Saviour.
Many of the icons are hundreds of years old; all are
masterpieces of
Spanish religious art, made of gold and silver and delicate, fine
fabrics and other precious materials. Carnations are the traditional
flowers used to decorate the floats. Many of the smaller tronos
are carried on the arms and backs of devout volunteers, who bear
their burdens gladly for the entire duration of the route. The
people who carry the weight of the floats are called costaleros
and are expected the carry these "thrones" with solemnity and grace.
They use a small cushion, the costal, to protect themselves from
getting sores during the long processions. Despite the weight, these
devout volunteers bear their burdens gladly, for the procession is
also a commemoration of the Jesus Christ’s journey to Calvary, and
their act is an expression of their piety.
An outpouring of emotion
 The processions are a fascinating occasion for visitors, who flock
to Spain during the Holy Week to witness it. The solemn nature of
many of the ceremonies, so different from other Spanish festivals,
is sometimes off-putting to visitors, but many others become caught
up and involved by the strong emotions invested in the ceremony.
More than a few visitors have wept along with the other worshippers
as the icons were carried past.
For others, cultural differences may make Semana Santa a
cause of consternation. American visitors sometimes feel uneasy
at the sight of a solemn procession featuring peaked masks, capes
and torches, but in Spain, where the history of such a costume is
altogether different, the same scene only calls forth feelings of
deep devotion. The uniforms worn during the procession are meant to
recall the Nazareņos, people from Nazareth, and are worn only
by the religious fraternities and brotherhoods responsible for
carrying the statues and organizing the penitents and musicians.
These remnants of medieval guilds are also the caretakers for the
icons during the rest of the year.
Seville’s celebrations are world famous, but there are literally
thousands of other processions held around Spain during the Holy
Week. The character of each processions changes with each city or
town. In some towns, the day is marked by merriment, with
good-natured competitions held to adorn the statues carried during
parade. In other towns, the processions are frighteningly
reminiscent of the day they are supposed to commemorate, as the
crowds yell out insults and catcalls at the marchers, just as the
mobs must have done on the day of the Crucifixion. In still other
towns, the parade of icons are accompanied by penitents, who
silently lash their bare backs with whips in atonement for their
sins. In some larger cities, a procession held on one night may even
be completely different from the procession of the night before, or
the night after. The only thing these varied parades have in common
is their theme: a commemoration of the trials, death and rebirth of
Christ, and its private meaning to the lives and beliefs of the
worshippers.
The processions end with Easter Sunday, a day full of light and colour, when church and cathedral bells are heard ringing throughout
the country. The day marks the Resurrection of Christ and celebrates
his triumph over death. This is the time for festivities and joy,
and not surprisingly, this is also the time when most of the Spanish
will take a short vacation with their families. The occasion calls
for a two-week holiday for schoolchildren, and a two-day holiday for
workers. In fact, it is the only time of the year when as much as
80% of tourists in Spain will be Spanish.
Seville is still the most popular city to go to for Holy Week,
though many of the other Andalusian towns draw a significant portion
of the visitor crowd. In fact, almost all cathedral towns see a huge
increase in foreign visitors during Semana Santa, which makes
finding accommodations a difficult task. Some hotels in popular
destinations are booked up to two years in advance. Despite the
trouble in getting a place to stay however, the celebrations of Holy
Week still draw thousands to Spain every year, to experience one of
the most original, evocative and memorable festivals in the world.
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