If you want to understand and feel Seville, be sure to come during Holy Week to Seville.
Holy Week is the week preceding Easter, the time of church holidays in Spain. Throughout Spain, many religious processions take place daily, passing routes from the church to the Cathedral and back.
The brotherhood of each church organizes a procession of church members. In 2015.70 processions took place in Seville.
The path of the processions is outlined in advance and there is a schedule. At first I couldn't find it, but I saw all the Spaniards have a book with a timetable. The tourist office just gave a printout for one day. And then I went to the Caixa bank branch and lo and behold! here, completely free of charge, near the ATMs, these wonderful and beautiful books with the schedule of all processions lay.
All processions enter the Cathedral from one side and pass through the square with stands, and exit from the other side, where they pass through the next stands. Entrance to the stands by tickets or invitations, because I have not seen anywhere where you can buy tickets to the stands.
The people of Seville perceive the processions, it seems to me, mainly as a kind of carnival. Well, if not a carnival, then more like a holiday. I did not notice any special religious perception. They prepare for the celebration long before it takes place. Church brotherhoods sew costumes and prepare a platform for placing a house image of the Virgin Mary or Jesus.
Historically, the procession carried the meaning of repentance for sins. And to repent publicly is not always easy. Criminals were also admitted here. Therefore, the hood (capirote) was invented, which covers the face. The cone supposedly connects with the sky. I do not pretend to the reliability of the version regarding the cone.
Then the caps began to use the Inquisition. Now each brotherhood has its own colors of tunics and caps.
The culmination of the whole procession is a richly decorated litter (pasos) on which the Virgin Mary or Jesus is placed.
The procession leaves the house church with a stretcher and moves along the route to the Cathedral and further back. Following the pasos there is always a brass band, which announces the approach of the Virgin Mary.
Pasos does not move on wheels, as is usually the case with the movement of platforms, but such an honorary burden is carried by special porters (costaleros). The porters put on a special device with a roller on the back of the head (costal), on which they carry the pass. Since the pasos can weigh up to 2 tons, there can be up to 40 porters and they must move strictly in one beat. A man walks in front of the stretcher and gives orders to the costaleros.
Throughout Holy Week, Spaniards with whole families with children and strollers, grandparents, dressed in the best costumes and dresses, go to watch the processions in the evenings. Most have folding chairs with them. It looks like an umbrella with a cane when folded. Unfolds into a stool. The youth looks much more democratic, but also at the parade. Waiting is mostly eaten with seeds, nuts, chips and washed down accordingly))) But, with all this, the streets are perfectly clean. Immediately after the procession, a whole army of cleaners follows him, the garbage is removed, the street is washed with soap, after 10 minutes it is clean.
If you want to see the real Andalusia, then come to Holy Week.
Holy Week is the week preceding Easter, the time of church holidays in Spain. Throughout Spain, many religious processions take place daily, passing routes from the church to the Cathedral and back.
The brotherhood of each church organizes a procession of church members. In 2015.70 processions took place in Seville.
The path of the processions is outlined in advance and there is a schedule. At first I couldn't find it, but I saw all the Spaniards have a book with a timetable. The tourist office just gave a printout for one day. And then I went to the Caixa bank branch and lo and behold! here, completely free of charge, near the ATMs, these wonderful and beautiful books with the schedule of all processions lay.
All processions enter the Cathedral from one side and pass through the square with stands, and exit from the other side, where they pass through the next stands. Entrance to the stands by tickets or invitations, because I have not seen anywhere where you can buy tickets to the stands.
The people of Seville perceive the processions, it seems to me, mainly as a kind of carnival. Well, if not a carnival, then more like a holiday. I did not notice any special religious perception. They prepare for the celebration long before it takes place. Church brotherhoods sew costumes and prepare a platform for placing a house image of the Virgin Mary or Jesus.
Historically, the procession carried the meaning of repentance for sins. And to repent publicly is not always easy. Criminals were also admitted here. Therefore, the hood (capirote) was invented, which covers the face. The cone supposedly connects with the sky. I do not pretend to the reliability of the version regarding the cone.
Then the caps began to use the Inquisition. Now each brotherhood has its own colors of tunics and caps.
The culmination of the whole procession is a richly decorated litter (pasos) on which the Virgin Mary or Jesus is placed.
The procession leaves the house church with a stretcher and moves along the route to the Cathedral and further back. Following the pasos there is always a brass band, which announces the approach of the Virgin Mary.
Pasos does not move on wheels, as is usually the case with the movement of platforms, but such an honorary burden is carried by special porters (costaleros). The porters put on a special device with a roller on the back of the head (costal), on which they carry the pass. Since the pasos can weigh up to 2 tons, there can be up to 40 porters and they must move strictly in one beat. A man walks in front of the stretcher and gives orders to the costaleros.
Throughout Holy Week, Spaniards with whole families with children and strollers, grandparents, dressed in the best costumes and dresses, go to watch the processions in the evenings. Most have folding chairs with them. It looks like an umbrella with a cane when folded. Unfolds into a stool. The youth looks much more democratic, but also at the parade. Waiting is mostly eaten with seeds, nuts, chips and washed down accordingly))) But, with all this, the streets are perfectly clean. Immediately after the procession, a whole army of cleaners follows him, the garbage is removed, the street is washed with soap, after 10 minutes it is clean.
If you want to see the real Andalusia, then come to Holy Week.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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