I, MadridMan, am confused about this too.
This year, Easter Sunday is on March 31st, the last day of the month. I BELIEVE Semana Santa (a.k.a. Holy Week) is the week leading UP TO Easter Sunday. Can someone confirm this please?? Thanks. I'm planning MY next trip for this week before Easter Sunday and extending through the week AFTER Easter Sunday (get ready! Version 4.0 is coming!!).
Semana Santa (Holy Week) is observed by ALL of Spain. EVERY city, every town, every village and pueblo has some kind of "pasos"/procession with the churces in the area.
I've made 3 trips to Spain during Holy Week (
1995 in Madrid/Toledo,
1998 in Sevilla/Córdoba, &
1999 in Barcelona/Navalcarnero) and find this a particularly interesting and cultural time. Where else in the world can you count 1,000+ capuchinos walking at a snail's pace?
The fesivities are simple....well, lavish, depending on where you are. SEVILLA is
THE PLACE to be in Spain for Semana Santa, but not everyone can make it there. AND, it's almost impossible to find lodging in the 30 minute perimeter (we stayed in Alcalá de Guadaira). Spaniards are on their BEST DRESSED during this week and you'll see many of the women wearing the traditional black dresses and black ... ummm.. (what's the thing called which women wear on their heads????).. Anyway, if at all interested, I have a quite a bit of "footage" of Semana Santa and its processions on "
MadridMan's Sevilla Video " from my 1998 trip there.
Maybe others members have other suggestions of particularly beautiful or cultural locations to see "los pasos" (the processions). I remember the first time I saw one in Toledo in 1995, my ladyfriend, a woman who is not at all religous, began to cry (well, one or two tears were released) as the processions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus passed by sooooo slowly. She wasn't the only one though.
Enjoy! I'll see it all again, not sure where in Spain this time, in a few months. Can't wait!!
By the way, here are a couple websites about Semana Santa in Sevilla:
http://semanasanta.andal.es/ http://www.lapasion.org/ Saludos, MadridMan
[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]