Semana Santa (Holy Week, the week before Easter) is a big deal in many Spanish-speaking countries. When I was in Nicaragua years ago, we had two weeks of vacation at Easter since everything shut down for both Semana Santa and Semana de Pascua (Easter week, the following week).
Of course, as a cruiser or traveler, this can lead to surprises. You may arrive in port with a torn sail only to find out that no one is working for the next two weeks. And if you are traveling, hotels may be full with vacationing locals and hotels may be charging higher “Semana Santa” rates.
The good side of this is that there are all sorts of activities that take place during Semana Santa. Every town puts its individual mark on the Easter ceremonies. Most towns will have numerous procesiones (processions). Antigua, Guatemala is famous for the alfombras de flores (carpets made of flowers) that line the streets, and in Mexico passion plays and ceremonies combine Christian and indigenous traditions. I WISH I had some photos to show you some of these colorful events! Send me some from the areas you have visited and I will credit you and add them to this blog.
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Yes I know it’s pretty lame for a Semana Santa photo: National Geographic Channel announcing a program called the “Devil’s Bible” that they are showing during Holy Week. |
In Buenos Aires, only Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) are holidays. But in nearby Uruguay, many people take the whole week off and go on vacation.
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The Sunday before Easter is the “Sunday of branches” when palm or other branches are blessed. |
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In Buenos Aires, ramos de oliva (olive branches) are used. Outside the churches, vendors sell olive branches. This vendor was all excited when I took her photo because she was going to be on the web in the Estados Unidos (USA)! |
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Happy Easter is ¡Feliz Pascua! or ¡Felices Pascuas! (Argentina) |
Here are some phrases you can use to ask about Semana Santa and Easter:
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¿Va a estar abierto en Semana Santa? |
| Vah ah ehss-tahr ah-b’yehr-toh ehn Seh-mah-nah Sant-tah? |
| (Are you going to be open during Holy Week?) |
Find out what’s going on so you can take part:
| ¿Cómo se celebra Semana Santa aquí? |
| Koh-moh seh seh-leh-brah Seh-mah-nah Sahn-tah ah-kee? |
| (How is Holy Week celebrated here?) |
I started a long discussion today when I asked what people ate at Easter…
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¿Qué come el domingo de Pascua? |
| Keh koh-meh ehl doh-meen-goh deh Pahss-kwah? |
| (What do you eat Easter Sunday?) |
For an easy-to-use phrase book with all the Spanish words you need to discuss holidays, schedules and holiday foods while cruising in Spain, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, get Spanish for Cruisers: The Boater’s Complete Language Guide
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