Holy Week in Spain is lived with palms, processions, thrones, music bands, flowers, tradition and a lot of devotion. But not only the thrones and the streets are decorated, the pastry shops also do it by filling their windows with the best sweets, but the real protagonists are the monas de Pascua -a bun made with sugar, flour, eggs and salt- that are usually decorated with several boiled eggs, some painted in colors. Chocolate eggs or figurines with the most impossible designs share the limelight with the cute ones.
The tradition varies according to the region: some eat them as a snack on Easter days and break the egg on the forehead of another person, others They are accompanied by chocolate when it does not have a boiled egg, some take it in the fields and others on Easter Sunday after mass.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the tradition of Holy Week is also linked to religion, but its representations are undoubtedly more lively. They have a very nice character, the Easter Bunny (Easter Rabbit) who is in charge of bringing children painted eggs and sweets.
What’s more, the very mischievous hides the Easter Eggs in the garden, and on the morning of April 24, the little ones, wicker basket in hand, will be in charge of finding them in what is known as the Egg Hunt (egg search). There are community egg hunts in virtually every state. Another of the Egg Rolling games (egg race) consists of throwing the boiled eggs down the hill/slope to see which one reaches the end of the journey intact.
American-style Easter: absolute passion
The Catholic tradition of the Easter Bunny tells that in the time of Jesus a rabbit was in the tomb and witnessed the resurrection, by such a miracle he was chosen as a messenger to remind children of the good news while delivering Easter eggs and sweets. Another legend tells that in April some children entered a barn and saw a rabbit run away. When they entered they found an egg and they thought that the rabbit had laid it.
Whether Catholic or pagan, in the United States Easter is lived with absolute passion. All shops and restaurants are decorated for Easter (usually with colored painted eggs), the offer of eggs and gadgets to decorate the eggs is infinite, the variety of wicker baskets is no less. For North Americans, Easter is very important, so much so that one could have the impression of being in a story and that is why they have a tradition of decorating their houses.
The processions are a little different from what we are used to. This is an informal and somewhat disorganized event that does not necessarily have religious significance for attendees. It takes place on Easter Sunday (Easter Sunday) and attendees bring out their best clothes, especially hats, to dazzle.
This is one of the ‘americanadas’ that is worth experiencing once in a lifetime. Don’t miss it!
