Last updated September 2022
Palm Sunday has come again but like most things this year, it is very different to usual. Still, this post marks the beginning of my Easter quartet, a collection of 4 short posts that will give you a bit of an idea of how Easter is celebrated in Spain. Well, in the wonderful autonomous region of La Rioja at least.
This means taking a break from Germany, a country I had only started to explore. I will return to writing on Germany soon but this time of year is too connected to Spain for me. And I still definitely have many more stories to share from Spain.
So it’s been a long while since my last post and maybe now seems like a strange time to go back to travel writing when all our worlds are shrinking but I think it is the best time. I am still working full-time but in my free time I love to think back on my travels and look at my photographs, postcards and momentos and feel so grateful that I travelled while I could. I know that I am not the only one feeling this way.
But that’s not how this story ends, she does not just return home to put away her suitcase and never travel again. No, that is not what I plan and that is not what I wish for anyone.
Are you at home wishing you travelled more while you could? Or are you wishing that your country didn’t let so many tourists in in the first place? Well, don’t. Our world was all the better for the travelling and the cross-culture learning that was able to flourish. I strongly hope it will be able to continue in the not so distant future.
So I am thinking back to my travels last year and I am looking forward to the travels that I know I will be able to experience in the future. For you, let this show you how wonderful the world is and inspire you to visit different parts of it. For many, like me, I think this is a good time to plan a holiday that you never got the chance to go on – let me argue for you to add celebrating Easter in Spain to your list.
I will write about some of the fascinating Spanish customs I came across last year on my travels. Unfortunately, I realise that I chose to be in the moment this day last year which means that I took no photographs of the procession or the palms. Sorry! Try to let my words be enough to describe it to you. There will be photos of the other Easter processions later in the week.
Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) marks the beginning of Easter in Spain. When I was in school I never knew why Easter was called La Semana Santa. Only after being in Spain for this special time of year did I realise that it is because Easter for them is a full week of celebrations, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. This is different to how we celebrate Easter in Ireland today.
The name doesn’t literally translate to Palm Sunday. Palma is palm. Rama is branch. Ramo is not a real word so who knows why Palm Sunday is called this.
On the day, olive branches of different sizes are blessed with holy water and are thought to bring good luck. The branches are also decorated with sweets, chocolates and some even with crisps! They looked lovely. Some branches were made of woven paper and could be bought in supermarkets. The real olive branches are kept and used as book-markers etc.
There is also a procession on the day. A float (paso) is carried through the town. Planks are used to support the weight of the float while those carrying it take breaks along the way. A wooden hammer is then tapped 3 times to signify recommencing.
A small place like Pradejón is a good place to experience the celebrations as you can easily park and follow the procession as the route isn’t too long, it is easy to walk without feeling too tired. Pradejón, although my home of 3 months, is not somewhere that you would choose to go for a holiday as it is very small. Still, it does have some claims to fame, chiefly, its mushrooms. I will dedicate a post to this home of mine one day soon but for today, let me just tell you that it produces the most mushrooms in all of Spain. That is quite a good claim to fame, right? They thought so too and even have a museum to prove it.
Another interesting fact about Palm Sunday is that they say it is unlucky if you do not wear new clothes on the day. I didn’t and I can’t say if it brought me bad luck or not!
Palm Sunday also overlaps with the Roman market in Calahorra (called Mercaforum) – you can read my post about it HERE. So if you want to visit Spain, celebrate Easter, and see as many unique festivals as possible, then I recommend that you come to La Rioja!
Prepare to read about Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday soon!
