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Where's the party?
This religious ceremony dedicated to the Virgin Mary
and the suffering of Christ is celebrated in cities, towns
and villages throughout Spain, but nowhere is the festival
as spectacular as in the city of Seville.
Forthcoming dates
29th April 2003, April 27th 2004, April 12th 2005, April 25th
2006.
What happens during Semana Santa?
Every day for an entire week devout believers from
57 hermandades or 'brotherhoods', together with huge
crowds of spectators, wind their way through the streets of
Seville in slow procession from their own church to the cathedral
in the centre of the city. The festival commemorates the events
of the Passion, and followers take part to seek forgiveness
for the sins they have committed in the past year.
Depending on the brotherhood, as many as 3000 nazarenos
take part in a procession. They depart at midday and can
take 8 hours to reach their destination. The climax of the
whole week is la madruga, or 'Good Friday', when the cavalcade
continues until the early hours of the morning.
The penitents strike an eerie image as they process through
the town: they dress in long dark robes and tall pointed hoods,
as no-one is meant to be able to guess the identity of sinners
who are seeking forgiveness. They carry candles to light their
way, and more senior members of the brotherhood bear rods
or banners.
Each brotherhood carries two pasos or floats: on one
is a statue of Christ, on the other of the Virgin Mary. It's
a great honour to be asked to carry one of the floats: they're
incredibly heavy and the experience symbolises Christ's own
suffering when he carried the cross to Calvary. The town's
favourite virgin is La Macarena, or 'the Virgin of
Hope'. She is transported through the town and across the
river on a float surrounded by thousands of candles and the
people throw rose petals at her as she goes.
Every so often the procession pauses to re-enact one of the
stations of the cross and the crowds express their grief and
emotion at the death of Christ with the singing of saeta,
poignant songs bewailing the suffering of Christ and the pain
of the Virgin Mary.
What's the history of Semana Santa?
The oldest and holiest festival in Spain dates back to the
16th century, when the Catholic Church decided to educate
congregations about the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion. |
