For most Christians, this week is Holy Week, which celebrates Jesus’s return to Jerusalem last Palm Sunday, kicks you in the gut on Maundy Thursday and the ironically named Good Friday, and then you get to hunt for candy-filled plastic eggs on Easter Sunday. For pretty much everyone else, this is just the last week of March, or the week before Spring Break if you have kids.
In Seville, Spain, though, Holy Week or Semana Santa is a huge deal. It’s kind of like their Derby Festival but with religion and without debauchery. Huge statues representing various images from the Passion of Jesus Christ take the streets in processions that last up to 12 hours. Schools shut, certain workplaces close and the whole city bands together in appreciation of the spectacle.
The whole point of Semana Santa was to educate the mostly illiterate populace back in the 12th – 16th centuries about one of the major tenets of Christianity. This was especially important in Seville, which had previously been under the control of the muslim Moors. The Moors were more or less cool with whatever religion you wanted to follow, but then the Crusades and the Inquisition and lots of other historically significant things happened in Europe and you got a week long parade about Jesus’s death. History sure is something.
Links!
- Newly minted UofL Athletics Director Vince Tyra owns part of a company that owns part of Louisville City, but the school and the club are making sure there aren’t any conflicts that might get the Cards in any (more) trouble (than they’re already in).
- The Rhinos are on hiatus, but you can still buy tickets to watch USL games in their stadium. Featuring teams that aren’t the Rhinos.
- I’m no Liverpool fan but this PR stunt Mo Salah and friends are pulling on some unsuspecting kids will give you all the feels. Also, Mo Salah is awesome.
