Bells, Blossoms and Semana Santa
Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar and nowhere is it celebrated with as much fervor and passion as Spain. Whilst most Spaniards are no longer regular church goers, the rituals of Holy Week, “Semana Santa”, are observed not just for their religious significance but also for the cultural importance they hold. The processions, music, decoration and costumes employed during Easter week bring alive an older Iberia with a complex history of religion and traditions. Our province contains some of the most colourful and evocative Easter week events with each of our local cities having its own events. In recent years we have visited Alicante, Elche and Orihuela to join the crowds participating in these colourful moments.
On Wednesday the place to be is Alicante when the local community parade the Christ of the Gypsies through the narrow lanes of the medieval old town, Barrio Santa Cruz. Try to get there early in the afternoon to get a spot to observe one of the most beautiful traditions of Southern Spanish Easter; the singing of the saeta. This extraordinary moment in the parade is when a singer expresses the pain of the Passion of Christ through the artistry of a traditional Gypsy lament which originally is influenced by Christian, Jewish, and Arab culture, with echoes of synagogue chants and Arabic lament. The singers sing from a balcony above the crowd but at eye level with the figure of Christ being carried in procession. It is an expression of religious faith and passion from the Gypsy community and quite unlike anything else in Roman Catholicism; uniquely Spanish. The beauty of the singing and the passionate responses of the crowd bring alive the torment and suffering that Christ underwent.
The grandest display of Catholic pomp takes place the next day on Maundy Thursday night in Elche. The torchlight parade of religious statues carried all over the city is spectacular. Richly decorated floats carrying painted and gilded statues of Jesus and Maria are slowly carried on the shoulders of dozens of men hidden beneath heavy velvet drapes; the entire spectacle is lit by hundreds of candles framing the holy images. The processions also include hundreds of penitents dressed in the characteristic pointed costumes hiding their faces. The music accompanying the processions is provided by massed bands playing wonderful marches of solemn grandeur and majesty. The Elche processions are the type of spectacular and colourful display that one associates with the famous Spanish Easter.
On Good Friday the place to visit is the city of Orihuela, which is the ancient seat of the local bishops, hosts what is probably the most extraordinary Easter week event in our region; Procesión del silencio, the silent nighttime procession of penitents. This procession through the old town streets takes place in total silence and complete darkness. Black robed and often barefoot the penitents light their way with handheld torches accompanied by clergy. The spectacle is moving and eerie, as befits the night of Christ’s violent death. Of all of the Easter week events the silent procession in Orihuela is perhaps the most striking and to modern eyes the most perplexing.
All of these events take place in the Holy week proceeding Easter weekend, but they actually capture best the real spiritual meaning of the Easter festival. Easter weekend itself is, of course, centred around the joyful moment of Easter Sunday when the Church celebrates its most important event; the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his offer of eternal salvation to the world in return for his sacrifice on the cross. Easter Sunday is overshadowed these days by Christmas but Easter is actually the most important Christian festival and the one that embodies its real spiritual message. Whether one is a Christian believer or not, the message of hope and peace that Easter represents should be welcome to us all at this most difficult of times. We invite you all to attend and participate in the colourful and emotional Easter events in our province and to take time to reflect on things apart from the cares and bustle of everyday life.
The procession of the Gypsy Christ is in Alicante on 1st April, the Elche procession is on 2nd April and the silent procession of the penitents is in Orihuela on 3rd April.
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