{"id":4184,"date":"2023-04-05T04:48:04","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T04:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/?p=4184"},"modified":"2023-04-05T05:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T05:57:05","slug":"easter-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/fr\/easter-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year again when we get ready here in Spain to celebrate la Semana Santa (Easter week)<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Out come the torrijas <\/b>(<\/i>fried sweet bread desserts<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, the nazarenos <\/b>(<\/i>people dressed in traditional Easter costumes<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and everyone starts preparing for the procesiones <\/b>(<\/i>parades<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which take place in every town and city across the country. As Spain is over 70% Catholic, Pascua <\/b>(<\/i>Easter<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> <\/b>is actually the most widely celebrated holiday here. So, let\u2019s take a closer look at some of the history, traditions and cuisine of this interesting time.<\/p>\n

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History of Easter in Spain<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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If you don\u2019t know, Semana Santa <\/b>(<\/i>Easter week<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> is all about celebrating la muerte <\/b>(<\/i>the death<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and subsequent resurecci\u00f3n <\/b>(<\/i>resurrection<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> of Jesus Christ. According to religion, he died on Viernes Santo <\/b>(<\/i>Good Friday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and came back to life on Domingo de Pascua <\/b>(<\/i>Easter Sunday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. These events have been celebrated in the Christian world in various ways pretty much ever since.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Spain, there are recorded procesiones <\/b>(<\/i>parades<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> dating back to el siglo XIII <\/b>(<\/i>the 13<\/i><\/b>th<\/sup><\/i><\/b><\/span> century<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> in the city of Salamanca. However, generally speaking, the traditions in their current forms mostly began in el siglo XVI <\/b>(<\/i>the 16<\/i><\/b>th<\/sup><\/i><\/b><\/span> century<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> when the Church decided they needed a better way to teach the story of la Pasi\u00f3n de Cristo <\/b>(<\/i>the Passion of Christ<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which includes la \u00faltima cena <\/b>(<\/i>the last supper<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, la crucifixi\u00f3n <\/b>(<\/i>the crucifixion<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and la resurreci\u00f3n <\/b>(<\/i>the resurrection<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> of Jesus. As such, the idea of parading religious figures through the streets in an act of collective worship gained popularity and eventually spread throughout the whole country.<\/p>\n

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What happens at Easter?<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Semana Santa <\/b>(<\/i>Easter week<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> officially starts with el Domingo de Ramos <\/b>(<\/i>Palm Sunday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> when people take ramas de palma o olivo <\/b>(<\/i>palm or olive branches<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> to their church to be blessed by el sacerdote <\/b>(<\/i>the priest<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. The idea behind this is to commemorate la entrada triunfal en Jerusal\u00e9n <\/b>(<\/i>the entry into Jerusalem<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> by Jesus where he was offered palm branches as a welcome gift by the people. You\u2019ll see people walking through the streets carrying their ramas <\/b>(<\/i>branches<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> on their way to la misa <\/b>(<\/i>mass<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. It\u2019s common to see both plain and decorated branches and some people tie them to their terraza <\/b>(<\/i>balcony<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> as well.<\/p>\n

Once the week has kicked off with this offering, then we start to see the procesiones <\/b>(<\/i>parades<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which may begin on the same Sunday and even on the Saturday before as well. These parades happen every night of la Semana Santa <\/b>(<\/i>Easter Week<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, and cities like Sevilla <\/b>(<\/i>Seville<\/i><\/b>) <\/i>in the south and Valladolid <\/b>in the north have had their Easter weeks declared Fiesta de inter\u00e9s tur\u00edstico internacional <\/b>(<\/i>Festival of International Tourism Interest<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> by the Spanish government due to how famous they are. Here in Madrid, there are a total of 26 parades during the week so there\u2019s plenty to see when you\u2019re studying Spanish<\/b><\/span><\/a> in the capital!<\/p>\n

During these parades, you\u2019ll see very large pasos <\/b>(<\/i>Easter float \u2013 like a very large platform<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which carry the esculturas religiosas <\/b>(<\/i>religious sculptures or figures<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> representing the different elements of the Easter story. These are very big, heavy structures which are carried through the streets by los costaleros <\/b>(<\/i>the people supporting the platform<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> who are hidden from public view by the fabrics draped over the bottom of the paso<\/b> itself. This gives the illusion that the figures are floating through the streets and so adds to the curiosity of the whole event.<\/p>\n

Each of the procesiones de Semana Santa <\/b>(<\/i>Easter parades<\/i><\/b>) <\/i>is made up of multiple pasos <\/b>(<\/i>Easter floats<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which are owned or at least looked after by many different cofrad\u00edas <\/b>(<\/i>brotherhoods<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. The cofrad\u00edas<\/b> are groups of religious faithful who work together during various events and promote the church they belong to. It\u2019s thought that the origins of such groups may have been to do with worker rights, as many of them were based around a particular oficio <\/b>(<\/i>profession<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, although this isn\u2019t really the case nowadays. The members of these groups parade in traditional dress \u2013 un capirote <\/b>(<\/i>big hood<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which is a very tall, conical hat which covers the face and has two eyeholes. Each cofrad\u00eda<\/b> (<\/i>brotherhood<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> has a different colour with a variety of decoration to identify themselves as belonging to that group during the parades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These events continue throughout the week, and the larger ones happen on Jueves Santo <\/b>(<\/i>Maundy Thursday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, Viernes Santo <\/b>(<\/i>Good Friday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, S\u00e1bado Santo <\/b>(<\/i>Holy Saturday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and Domingo De Resurreci\u00f3n <\/b>(<\/i>Easter Sunday<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. When you come to learn Spanish<\/b><\/span><\/a> here in Madrid, we definitely recommend going to watch some of these parades as they\u2019re absolutely fascinating and a great way to immerse yourself in authentic Spanish culture<\/b>. You don\u2019t have to be religious to enjoy the spectacle of Semana Santa<\/b> as it\u2019s something that everyone here gets involved in.<\/p>\n

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Easter foods<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Apart from all of the actual religious observance, Semana Santa<\/b> has its own set of tasty treats for you to enjoy while you\u2019re taking a Spanish course<\/b><\/span><\/a> in Madrid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most typical things you\u2019ll find during this time are torrijas<\/b>. These are made from a type of pan <\/b>(<\/i>bread<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> which is soaked in leche <\/b>(<\/i>milk<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, fried in aceite <\/b>(<\/i>oil<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and flavoured with az\u00facar <\/b>(<\/i>sugar<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>, miel<\/b> (<\/i>honey<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> and canela <\/b>(<\/i>cinnamon<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. Sounds delicious, right? People go mad for these desserts \u2013 I\u2019m particularly addicted to them and my suegra <\/b>(<\/i>mother-in-law<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> makes the best torrijas<\/b>! Once you\u2019ve tried one, you\u2019ll be wanting more. They were first documented in el siglo XV<\/b> and their association with Pascua <\/b>(<\/i>Easter<\/i><\/b>)<\/i> comes from them being a way to use up leftover bread from the time of Cuaresma <\/b>(<\/i>Lent<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>. You\u2019ll find them absolutely everywhere around March and April, so make sure you try a few!<\/p>\n

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