Good Friday Easter processions

Easter is a really neat time in Spain because they have processions all leading up to Easter Sunday. The processions date back to the 16th century when the church wanted to present the story of the Passion of Christ in a way that a layperson could understand. They decided the best way to do it was with processions. Each day of Semana Santa (Holy week) there is a procession, one from each brotherhood in the city. They usually carry two different floats, one of Jesus and one of the Virgin Mary. These floats can weigh upwards of a thousand pounds and they are carried from the church along a particular route and back again. The procession can last hours and it is considered a great honor to help carry the float. The pain is representative of the pain that Jesus felt.

Please note, as you look through the pictures, these outfits are in no way related to the Ku Klux Klan. Obviously this tradition started long before that time period. The hats are called "capirote". The face is covered as a sign of mourning for the death of Jesus and are later taken off to celebrate His resurrection.

On Good Friday there were 6 different processions throughout the city. We went to one nearby us. It was pretty cool.

I asked an older man next to me why the people were walking barefoot. They do it as a sort of penance for their sins.

People also wear chains as a penance.

And carry a cross for the same reason.

There are men underneath carrying this massive float. We were standing on an incline too. There was a man at the front cheering them on telling them they could do it. When they passed by everyone started clapping.

The mass of people following along behind.