Semana Santa 2008

Yep, the sant week or semana santa began this week end in all spain (and perhaps in Latin America). And it's the most important week of hollidays in spain after Christmas. But what spanish people make for this period ? They could go to the beach, or go to visit other country, but a majority of people stay in spain and participate to the celebration of Semana santa.

But what is semana santa ? Do you remember some photos of people with a strange hat sharp ... very scary ? But it is not only this.

Firsly it's a religious celebration. It rhythm the annual calendar of the city, which lives during one week at the rate/rhythm of the processions.
It begins Sunday Rameaux and is completed one week later, Easter Sunday, for the commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ. During these eight days dedicated to the Passion of Christ, 57 brotherhoods (Hermandades and Cofradías) leave in procession to go to the Cathedral, to conclude their station from penitence, before returning towards their starting point.
Each one of these congregations leads at the time of its long advance its pasos, these furnace bridges carried with back of men, richly decorated and who are used as supports with groups carved out of wood representing of the scenes of Passion. A considerable crowd of sévillans, Spanish and foreigners, believers and unbelievers press themselves in the streets of the city to collect or simply admire the passage of these imposing processions the penitent ones, of which some are accompanied by music.

The route of the brotherhoods is fixed by advance, then announced publicly with the Royal Vault of the Cathedral 14 days before the beginning of the Holy Week. This ceremony, whose origin goes back to the synod diocesan of 1604, is known under the name of Cabildo of Toma de Horas.

Each brotherhood, at the day and hour which fall to him, leaves in procession since the church or the vault where its seat is established. The procession, formed of the hundreds even of the thousands of members of the company, then starts its way of penitence towards the cathedral. To reach this one, it must carry out the last part of its course on an official route, common to all the cofradías: Oficial Will square. This segment leads the brotherhoods to pass in front of the Town hall. Once arrived at the cathedral, the congregations complete their station of penitence before joining their starting point which they will regain afterwards of the hours of procession in the streets of city.

The spectacular aspect of these litanies of cofrades (members of the cofradías) is explained by their accumulation, the beauty baroque of the pasos, the absolute silence of the processions, or on the contrary their solemn music, but also by their projection in the lanes of the old city, which forms an imposing framework. The tortuous configuration of certain ways makes sometimes perilous their progression, which contributes to give more plume still to their walk, which seems interminable: it is often necessary to have patience more than one hour to see passing the totality of a hermandad.

The processions carry out stops, which are then the occasion to hear saetas entonnées by anonymities, since the street or a balcony. The moment most favourable with these improvisations is at the exit and the return of the procession.

The Holy Week reaches its paroxysm at the time of Madrugá, which, in the night of Thursday at the Good Friday, sees leaving the most famous congregations Seville: Macarena, Esperanza de Triana, Jesús del Gran Poder,… The city knows this night the strongest multitude of the week.

But this occurs in Latin Amercia like in Guatemala:

I know that it's a religious celebration, but it's very spectacular to see how people can still have faith and how this celebration could be important for them.