If you want to celebrate Easter somewhere different then why not celebrate when in your BARCELONA HOLIDAY RENTALS and enjoy Semana Santa? As we call it, Holy week is the week that commences immediately before Easter and an important date in the Christian calendar. Spain is a very religious country, as any tourist just needs to look around each town or city and count how many churches or cathedrals there are. This is not to say that other countries are not as religious but it does seem that the communities around the churches are very much closer to each other than in other countries.
In Barcelona, there are many activities that people from all walks of life will partake in. It all commences on Good Friday climaxing in the procession in La Rambla with hooded penitents carrying crosses. “Domingo de Ramos” (Palm Sunday, also known as “Fiesta de Ramos”) is the first day of Semana Santa. This starts with a solemn procession from La Seu cathedral in the old town and follows the winding streets ending at one of the parishes. The participants can be seen carrying crosses or palm leaves but it is not only the procession that happens. Local families have spent time, sometimes weeks, on building different sculptures created with palm leaves depicting events from the Christian calendar. Some of these sculptures are 12 feet high or taller. Many are on display along the route of the procession with some carried along with the wave of assembled worshippers.
The main event of the procession is the “Bendición de la Palma” (Blessing of the Palm) which occurs at churches of each parish. The organising of the Easter processions falls on the brotherhood of the parish called “cofradia” and at each procession (”pasos”). It is the cofradia who prepare the large decorated floats, which have huge wooden statues either of Christ the Virgin Mary or other characters from the bible. Almost the entire week is filled with celebrations. Each pasos procession represents a different scene from the story in the bible and after a week of processions they can all seem to become a little repetitive. Look closely at the procession’s story of the last supper to the resurrection of Christ. Each pasos is different depending on which part of the story told, with up to seven figures carried high on litters by the cofradia. Examples would be the Descendimiento (Christ taken down from the cross). The pasos would have a figure of Christ at the forefront of the procession while one of the Virgin Mary would be at the rear. The Flagelacion depicts how the virgins are perceived as spiritual beauty queens and each one would have a different face and be known to locals by a different name.
Some of the processions are very solemn while others are filled with cheer and laughter. It is worth remembering that Barcelona is not the most religious of the larger cities in Spain. The best celebrations are found in towns like Seville in Andalusia. The few days before Easter starts in Barcelona there is a mass exodus from the city known by locals as “Operacion Salida”. This leaves Barcelona open to foreigners wanting to enjoy a quieter holiday during their BARCELONA HOLIDAY RENTALS.
In Barcelona, there are many activities that people from all walks of life will partake in. It all commences on Good Friday climaxing in the procession in La Rambla with hooded penitents carrying crosses. “Domingo de Ramos” (Palm Sunday, also known as “Fiesta de Ramos”) is the first day of Semana Santa. This starts with a solemn procession from La Seu cathedral in the old town and follows the winding streets ending at one of the parishes. The participants can be seen carrying crosses or palm leaves but it is not only the procession that happens. Local families have spent time, sometimes weeks, on building different sculptures created with palm leaves depicting events from the Christian calendar. Some of these sculptures are 12 feet high or taller. Many are on display along the route of the procession with some carried along with the wave of assembled worshippers.
The main event of the procession is the “Bendición de la Palma” (Blessing of the Palm) which occurs at churches of each parish. The organising of the Easter processions falls on the brotherhood of the parish called “cofradia” and at each procession (”pasos”). It is the cofradia who prepare the large decorated floats, which have huge wooden statues either of Christ the Virgin Mary or other characters from the bible. Almost the entire week is filled with celebrations. Each pasos procession represents a different scene from the story in the bible and after a week of processions they can all seem to become a little repetitive. Look closely at the procession’s story of the last supper to the resurrection of Christ. Each pasos is different depending on which part of the story told, with up to seven figures carried high on litters by the cofradia. Examples would be the Descendimiento (Christ taken down from the cross). The pasos would have a figure of Christ at the forefront of the procession while one of the Virgin Mary would be at the rear. The Flagelacion depicts how the virgins are perceived as spiritual beauty queens and each one would have a different face and be known to locals by a different name.
Some of the processions are very solemn while others are filled with cheer and laughter. It is worth remembering that Barcelona is not the most religious of the larger cities in Spain. The best celebrations are found in towns like Seville in Andalusia. The few days before Easter starts in Barcelona there is a mass exodus from the city known by locals as “Operacion Salida”. This leaves Barcelona open to foreigners wanting to enjoy a quieter holiday during their BARCELONA HOLIDAY RENTALS.
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