Last updated September 2022
Happy Easter, everyone! It is without doubt a very strange Easter and it is sad that we cannot carry out all the traditions we would like but we can still have a good day and eat delicious food, especially chocolate. Or, like me, drink a cup of coffee again! Yes, I successfully managed to give up coffee for Lent! I am very surprised I managed but I actually didn’t miss it very much – well, I did drink a lot of tea instead which may or may not be much better. Anyway, I digress from the point of this post, celebrating Easter Sunday!
In Ireland we celebrate Easter Sunday by going to mass and then maybe having an Easter egg hunt in the garden before a nice dinner with family. There is usually a large amount of chocolate involved too! Easter Sunday in Spain is very different.
So Easter Sunday is the last day of Semana Santa (it begins on Palm Sunday.) Also like Palm Sunday, it is a day of celebration, therefore the heads of the people taking part in the procession aren’t covered. Those taking part in the procession cover their heads with hoods on the other days of the week, such as on Good Friday.
I never knew why Easter in Spain was called Semana Santa (Holy Week) until I went. It is now obvious to me that it is called Semana Santa because they celebrate Easter with a whole week of events and processions. Easter Sunday isn’t as important for them, all the 7 days are important. Easter Monday isn’t important, there might be processions in some towns but in general it is celebrated from Sunday to Sunday. This is different to Ireland, where Easter Sunday is the most important day and Easter Monday too. We might not do anything special on the Monday but even so, it is considered part of Easter.
So on Easter Sunday in Pradejón there is another procession. The people are wearing blue and white this time. There were drummers and trumpeters playing a song that sounded suspiciously like “The Sound of Silence” to me! There were 2 pasos (floats) for this procession, one of Jesus and one of the Virgin Mary. I don’t seem to have photos of them so I am sharing some from other processions during the week, to give you an idea.
The procession on Easter Sunday is followed by the burning of dolls, called Los Judas. It is believed that are burnt in order to get rid of bad spirits and to ensure a good harvest. That’s what I was told anyway. The dolls are dressed in real clothes and must be completely burnt, clothes and everything. Then afterwards they throw sweets to the children, you need to watch out at this point, people take it very seriously and it can be a little manic.
A nearby town in La Rioja, Alfaro has LOTS of dolls but they look more like caricatures, mocking real people or of people from popular culture. In Pradejón, they were generic, just one male and one female.
There is also another procession in the evening, of course. Easter week has many processions in Spain. It is very similar to the procession in Calahorra that I wrote about. But here is another photo for you, you can see the drums in particular.
So this may not seem as sweet and bright as an Easter egg hunt in the garden and munching on chocolate eggs but it is much more traditional and imbued with more meaning. I’m glad I saw it and I would like to see it again but for this year I am very happy to eat some chocolate, drink a cup of coffee and relax with my family.
Happy Easter to you, wherever you may be in the world, and whether you are celebrating it today or next weekend.
I would LOVE to hear about how you celebrate Easter, please do drop a comment about what you usually do on this day. And a photograph too, if you feel the urge!
