The Holy Week in Spain is a weeklong holiday before Easter that involves daily processions, massive floats, large crowds, traditional bands, and parades with hooded men. This Spanish tradition became widely celebrated in the sixteenth century and has evolved into a cultural as well as religious process that is almost unimaginable in the United States. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this holiday in four Spanish cities within two different regions, including Sevilla, Málaga, and Granada in Andalucía, and Toledo in Castilla-La Mancha. Traditional processions consist of hundreds of hooded brotherhood members that carry candles or crosses and wear different colored hoods depending on the day of the week or time of day. There are also church officials carrying flags, crosses, and incense, along with women in traditional black dresses and veils carrying rosaries. Finally, there are several large floats with biblical scenes, adorned with statues, flowers, candles, and silver. Roughly twenty men carry each float on their shoulders, which can weigh up to 5,400 pounds, and therefore requires them to take several breaks throughout the processions.

By far, the grandest celebration was in Sevilla, as my family and I found ourselves caught in the middle of processions in Sevilla’s winding historic roads multiple times. The most noteworthy procession was the silent midnight procession on Palm Sunday, which involved all-black attire from everyone in the procession and incredibly ornate floats that practically hit us, given the narrow roads. In Málaga, the processions were more organized and on the main road of the coastal city, meaning the entire city shut down traffic halfway through the day until the next morning. This also meant that many businesses go as far as to change their hours and close at specific times to accommodate the parades, showing just how impactful the celebrations are. When we were in Granada, the processions were the most laid back out of all the cities and were my personal favorite, with the evening processions taking place along the river that runs through the city center, and our ability to leave the procession when we wanted without large crowds trapping us was a bonus. Toledo reflected the difference in regions in terms of the scale of the processions, and it became obvious that the South of Spain certainly goes all out compared to other regions. However, the processions still included all the traditional components and were beautiful to watch right in front of the grand cathedral in the city center. Overall, this trip was an incredible reflection of Spanish history, culture, and customs, and despite some of the culture shocks of enormous crowds and hooded groups of men, it was an amazing experience. To anyone considering traveling during the Spanish Holy Week in the future, I encourage it, although with careful planning and the awareness of just how seriously the Spaniards take their celebrations.