Much more than a Religious feastthe Easter week It represents a real cultural trip through the continents. Among spectacular processions, ancestral and ritual customs sometimes curious, this era brings together peoples in a celebration that is spiritual, festive and gastronomic. For more curious travelers, it is also the perfect occasion to immerse themselves in local traditions.
Spain: fervor and passion
In Spain, Holy Week is one of the most anticipated events of the year that is lived with great devotion. Processions, organized by religious brotherhoods, are particularly impressive in different parts of the country, especially in Andalusia: Seville, Malaga, Granada and Córdoba vibrate to the rhythm of the steps, sometimes taken to the shoulders of the costalers, and adorned with religious images. The atmosphere is solemn and deeply emotional. In the gastronomic field, the Torrijas, that sweet bread with cinnamon and sugar, are the star dish of this time of the year.
Italy: between faith and coexistence
In Rome, Easter celebrations reach their peak in the Plaza de San Pedro, with a solemn mass presided by the Pope on Palm Sunday. The faithful go to receive the blessing of the olive branches, a symbol of peace and hope.
Throughout the week, the Vatican hosts important moments such as the Papal Audience, where participants have the opportunity to listen to a speech of the Holy Father. On Easter Monday, known as Pasquetta, it is reserved for the traditional picnics in the countryside, shared with family or with friends, accompanied by the Colomba Pasquale, a dove -shaped cake.
Throughout the country, especially in Sicily and in the south, night processions and passion representations reflect a fervent popular tradition.
Brazil: The Passion of Christ on stage
In Brazil, Holy Week is lived with creativity and intensity. In Nova Jerusalem, in the state of Pernambuco, the greatest representation of the passion of Christ in the world brings together hundreds of actors in a large outdoor theater.
In Minas Gerais, cities such as Ouro Preto are adorned with carpets of flowers and chips of colors, ephemeral collective works that adorn the streets for the passage of processions. An explosion of colors and spirituality.
And, of course, chocolate eggs, sometimes giant, are an institution for large and small.
Jerusalem: In the heart of the origins
Spiritual of Christianity, Jerusalem acquires special importance during Holy Week. On Good Friday, thousands of pilgrims travel the painful road, in the Christian neighborhood of the old city, reviving the 14 stations of the Crucis via that represent the stages of the Calvary of Jesus to its crucifixion.
On Palm Sunday, a great procession part of the Mount of Olives to commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city.
A particularly spectacular moment: Easter Saturday, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher celebrates the Sacred Fire ceremony, in the Orthodox tradition. The flame on in the tomb of Christ is transmitted to other countries, perpetuating a ritual of more than 1,200 years old.
Guatemala: millenary traditions
Guatemala offers one of the most spectacular celebrations of Holy Week, especially in Antigua Guatemala, where Catholic traditions merge with Mayan beliefs. The most prominent point: carpets, made of chips, flowers, fruits and seeds, meticulously elaborated in the procession tours.
Each design has a spiritual or cultural meaning. A true collective work that disappears with the passage of the faithful. To better understand these unique customs, it is essential to visit the Easter Museum in Antigua.
Other places in the world
In Haux, France, on Easter Monday, a giant tortilla of at least 4,500 eggs, outdoors, in a festive atmosphere is prepared.
In Scotland, children participate in the cooked egg race, making them roll from the top of a hill.
In Sweden and Finland, the little ones go home at home disguised as Easter witches, offering bouquets and receiving sweets.
In Bermuda, colorful comets fill the sky on Good Friday, in both poetic and spiritual tradition.
On this occasion, Civitatis, a leading platform in the sale of Spanish activities throughout the world, offers a tour of the most surprising celebrations of this era around the planet. An invitation to travel differently, to the rhythm of the processions, the Easter eggs and the colorful carpets.
