Semana Santa

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The Spanish have a way of celebrating the week of Easter that is very unique and diverse, and in no way involves bunnies and eggs.

For centuries, they have celebrated Semana Santa (Holy Week) in a very traditional way. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends the following Easter Sunday. The holiday, which is most popular in Andalucia (the region of Spain in which Granada is located) is known for it's stunning processions. In each procession there are either one of two very elaborately decorated 'floats' that contain a statue of either a saint, the Virgin Mary, or Jesus Christ, proceeded by a band and people dressed in typical Semana Santa robes. The statues are carried on the shoulders of 30-40 people that walk in a certain step that makes the statue sway back and forth to the drums and the music. It's a little eerie, but very cool to see.

Some of the people of Granada aren't too fond of it, though, as it is very noisy and blocks a lot of the streets for an entire week. The woman I live with, for example, took off to Portugal for a weekend. I'm glad that I was able to see it once though.

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Photos

Me
Somebody actually let me wear their Semana Santa hat and hold their candle so that Carla could take a picture. We thought it was hilarious.

Plaza Nueva
In the back you can see the plaza by my house. It was FULL of people. It's basically impossible to walk anywhere when a procession is going by.

Pointy Hats3
Here they joke about how the Semana Santa outfits scare the Americans because they think it's the Ku Klux Klan. It's weird how something with such religious significance in one country can mean something totally aweful in another.