Semana Santa (Holy Week) is the week before Easter Sunday. Most people leave San Jose and head to the beach. We opted to stay in town (like I mentioned in the earlier posts). One reason we stayed is since everyone leaves the city it is easier to get around. We noticed that during the day it was actually quiet!
The two most important days are Thursday and Friday. Most businesses are closed these two days and only a few buses run. The focus on the holiday is really Good Friday and the death of Jesus. On Saturday and Sunday, everything opens back up and runs like normal. It is quite different than how we celebrate. Most people don't even celebrate the resurrection, especially the Catholic church here.
It is sad that the focus is on the death without the resurrection. Even some evangelical churches don't celebrate Easter or anything during Holy Week in order that they separate themselves from the Catholic church. Our church had a service, but it was about an hour into the service before it was even mentioned that it was Easter Sunday. It makes my heart hurt for the people who don't have the hope that comes with the resurrection.
An important part of Holy Week is to have processions on Good Friday. They had a procession just down the street from our house. It started at the Catholic church and went down the main road. They stopped at several different "stations" on the road to read the different parts of the Good Friday story.
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| Roman Guards lead the parade. |
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| Jesus following the guards |
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| Mary follows behind Jesus |
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| People follow behind the biblical figures. |
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| Stopping at the 6th station of the cross |
Later that day, a smaller church held their procession and it went right in front of our house. Notice how different they portray Jesus:
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| Jesus after he dies on the cross |
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