Holy Week of Sevilla

HOLY WEEK

The Holy Week is one of the oldest celebrations in our country and, in many cities, it is lived in a very intense way. One of the most passionate regions at this time of the year is Andalusia and, particularly, Seville, one of the most famous cities concerning this tradition.

Many foreign tourists or even Spaniards who have never experienced the Holy Week, go to cities like Seville on the most typical or important days of the religious calendar. But, to say the truth, for the most devoted ones and the fans, the Holy Week is the culmination of a much longer period of preparation and worship of several previous weeks. Let’s learn a little more about this tradition.

HISTORY

The Holy Week can boast about being one of the oldest traditions of the Spanish history and, furthermore, we know with certainty that over the years it has had very few significant modifications. 

Some experts state that the first procession celebrated in Spain was around the year 1520. However, we cannot say that the existence of a procession represents everything that the Holy Week means in our country. Little by little, what at first was a single procession, leaded to different and varied ones with different representations of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ as the years went by. This gave rise to the Holy Week as we know it today and its division into the different days of Holy Week.

It is currently one of the most famous and popular traditions (if not the most) in Seville and the annual numbers of tourists confirm this fact.

ELEMENTS

As previously said, we know that the first procession in Spain appeared around 1520. However, nowadays we can find something very different, although the meaning does not change: they represent the last moments of Christ.

• “Paso”. In the procession, the image of Christ is the protagonist, which is called the “paso” in Spanish. It is a physical representation of a specific scene of the Gospel, with figures and ornaments. The structure that supports it is made of wood and metal, which is carried by “costaleros” over their shoulders, giving movement and “life” to these animations.

• The band. According to many people, it is the most impressive element. Mainly composed of different percussion and wind instruments, the passion, sadness or strength that they are able to express and transmit, creates an incredible show.

•             Nazarenes. Their clothing, broadly speaking, consists of a conical headwear and a tunic. It is quite shocking for some people, because of the impressive image of tall individuals (because of the height of the headwear) with the faces covered and large candles that illuminate the streets. For those who have never seen it, it is quite surprising.

Seville is a great place to experience a tradition like this. Because of that, we would like to give some advices. It is a date with a big amount of people on the streets and to enjoy this experience to the fullest, we recommend to plan the visit down to the last detail. Its important to make reservations beforehand in terms of accommodation and a clear idea of ​​the itinerary we want to follow, to avoid wasting time between the crowds and not enjoying at all.

In any case, it is a very enjoyed tradition in Spain, which frequently people repeat each year to feel again the emotions that it transmits. 

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