Semana Santa

        Last week in Antigua, I was able to participate in the 2^nd largest Holy Week celebration in the world. It was unreal. All week long there were reenactments, displays and processions (which are parades where men and women dress up in special costumes carry platforms with different scenes that contain Jesus or Mary around the city). People spend hours before hand preparing the streets with “alfombras,” (carpets made of grass, pine, flowers, and colored saw dust) for the procession to walk over. People came from all over to pay their respects to our Lord, and to thank Him for the beautiful gift that differentiates Christianity from other religions-- Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. Processions and displays happen every day in different locations all over the city. There is a constant reminder of what Holy week means to us.

One of the processions. 100 men carrying this platform.

Alfombra made of flowers.

          By the end of the week, it seemed like we had all seen about 10 processions. Some friends here and I stayed up late Thursday night to watch people prepare for the huge procession that begins at 0400 Friday a.m. We didn’t make it that long, but we watched people work tirelessly over their alfombras all over Antigua. Friday night, we happened to leave dinner at the time that one of the large processions passed the restaurant. It was raining and cold, but still there were thousands of people packed into the street to watch the procession (and the marching band that followed in their rainjackets). This particular procession was special because it was symbolic of Jesus’ funeral march. It was incredible. The music played by the marching band was amazing, and there were probably thousands of people lining the dark, rainy streets with candles. Christian or not, it was a sight to behold.

Procession in the rain, so Jesus has a rain jacket

         

          Semana santa (Holy week) is such a huge cultural experience here, and since I’m not Catholic or Latin American some of the tradition is lost on me. With that being said, I am SO glad that I got to experience it here. I was amazed constantly by how intently everyone devotes their time, energy, and resources to thanking God for His gift to us, and I was able to see some very beautiful art in the form of colored sawdust and very temporary displays in the streets. So, thanks Antigua, I will probably never think of Easter in quite the same way as I did before.