Why Semana Santa Is So Significant For Latinx Communities

In the US, most people will celebrate Easter to some degree because of how commercialized it has become, and who doesn't like a good Easter egg hunt? For Catholic Latinx households, Semana Santa is very significant for many reasons. It's a time to gather with family, a time to be thankful and reverent and is a testament to how integral Catholicism is to Latin American cultures overall. This year, Semana Santa falls on April 10 and goes through April 16. Here's a look at how it's celebrated throughout Latin America, what it consists of, and a breakdown of its history.

Semana Santa or Holy Week is celebrated every year globally by an estimated 285 million Catholics. The tradition started in 1521 when the Marqués de Tarifa returned to Andalucia, Spain, from Jerusalem. He institutionalized the Vía Crucis (Stations of the Cross) and mandated that it be commemorated each year with a procession that would also serve to teach non-Catholics about the passion of Christ. What started as one procession on a single day turned into various processions that each depicted a different scene of the passion and were spread out over the course of a week. To this day, countries colonized by the Spanish have made the celebrations and processions their own by incorporating local and Indigenous practices into the elaborate altars and floats we see today.

Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday):

Palm Sunday is the last day of Lent and the first day of Semana Santa that marks Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem. It's also the first Sunday before Easter. According to the Bible, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the people in the streets laid down palm branches in his path. Palm Sunday is often celebrated with processions and the distribution of blessed palm leaves. In some parishes, the palms are saved and burned on Ash Wednesday of the next year and the ash is used to anoint foreheads. Some people fold the palm fronds into crosses and keep them in their homes.

Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday, day of the Last Supper):

Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist (taking communion) as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood. During the Last Supper, Jesus offers himself as the sacrificial lamb for the Passover sacrifice. During the Mass, a bishop traditionally blesses the oil of chrism. This oil is used for baptism, confirmation, and anointing individuals who may be sick or dying. The bishop will also wash the feet of 12 priests to symbolize when Christ washed the feet of his 12 apostles.

Viernes Santo (Good Friday):

Good Friday represents the crucifixion of Christ. It is celebrated in numerous parts of Latin America with solemn processions in which statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary are carried through town as a remembrance of the judgment, passion, crucifixion, death, and burial of Christ. There are also many other traditions people can participate in on this day. Some might dress in costumes, do passion plays and dramatic recreations of the crucifixion of Christ. There may also be a display of an Altar de Dolores — an Altar of Sorrows that represents the Virgin Mary's pain of losing her only son. It's called "Good Friday" because it led to the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter.

Sábado Santo (Holy Saturday):

According to the Bible, Jesus's followers and family held a vigil for him outside his tomb, awaiting his foretold resurrection. Holy Saturday marks when Jesus's body lay in the tomb. In some countries, there is a custom of burning Judas in effigy because of his betrayal of Jesus. The observance is intended to commemorate the final day of Christ's death.

Domingo de Resurrección/Pascua (Resurrection or Easter Sunday):

Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of Jesus three days after the crucifixion. This day represents the defeat of death and the hope of salvation since the sins of humanity were paid for by the death of Jesus. Easter is also the end of the fasting and penitence for Lent. This is generally a day when people go to Mass and celebrate with their families.

Every Latin American country and region has its own traditions when it comes to the way they observe Semana Santa. For example in Honduras, Semana Santa includes extravagant street processions and costumes, but they are most known for Comayagua Street Carpets where the main street is decorated with rice, colored chalk, flower petals that depict events leading up to the crucifixion. In Mompox, Colombia they observe Holy Wednesday by dressing in their finest clothes to participate in an evening procession through the streets that leads to the cemetery where they adorn the graves of their loved ones with flowers and play music for them. In fact, if you Google "Semana Santa" and the name of any Latin American country you'll see how different and vibrant all of the celebrations are, but also what unites them.

Culinary choices during Semana Santa also reflect the regional differences of each country, state, town, and pueblo. In the Dominican Republic, a classic Easter dish is habichuelas con dulce, which is a spiced, sweet bean pudding made with condensed milk. In Mexico, capirotada is a bread pudding served on Good Friday. In Ecuador, a popular Good Friday dish is fanesca, a big size soup/stew with corn, lentils, peanuts, peas, quinoa, and cod. And in Argentina, they eat a sweetbread called Rosca de Pascua on Easter.

Non-Catholics also celebrate Easter because of the spring equinox and its roots in pagan practices. Easter first started out as a celebration of the spring equinox when all of nature is awakened and the cycle of renewal begins again. It is also the day of the year when day and night are exactly identical thus ushering in balance after those long winter nights. Aries season is also the beginning of the astrological new year. Pagans would celebrate invoking Ēostre or Ostara, the goddess of fertility.