{"id":649,"date":"2011-04-22T12:18:15","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T16:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?p=649"},"modified":"2012-12-07T10:34:17","modified_gmt":"2012-12-07T15:34:17","slug":"semana-santa-in-spain-and-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/semana-santa-in-spain-and-around-the-world","title":{"rendered":"Semana Santa in Spain and Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seville,<\/a>
\nThe rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane. At least that’s what you’ll be hoping for if you’re planning a trip to see Spain’s infamous Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in April. Semana Santa is a week (or two in Toledo) of outdoor festivities marking the Passion of Christ\u2014the Christian events of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion\u2014which ends by celebrating his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Because Spain generally has its wettest weather in April, you might want to head to Andalusia in the south. Not only is it one of Spain’s drier regions but it also offers some of the best Semana Santa parades in the entire country, if not the world. And it’s not just the locals who say so.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Visit places mentioned in this post:<\/p>\n

Giralda Tower \/ The Alcazar of Seville \/ Christopher Columbus’ gravesite<\/a><\/p>\n

Toledo Cathedral \/ St. Mary’s Synagogue \/ Seville, Spain \/ Toledo, Spain<\/a><\/p>\n

Andalusia’s capital, Seville, is the ultimate hot spot. Here, the tradition of Semana Santa\u2014dating back to the 16th century when churches used street theatre to teach the Passion of Christ\u2014holds its original pomp and glory. Since many of the Semana Santa parades don’t begin until 9 p.m., you’ll have the whole day to explore the city. Some of the most interesting places to visit include the Giralda Tower, a former minaret (mosque) turned cathedral, and a one-time Moorish fort called the Alc\u00e1zar of Seville, now a royal palace. You can even discover the mystery surrounding Christopher Columbus’ gravesite right in the heart of Seville.<\/p>\n

Prefer to spend Semana Santa somewhere a little quieter? Visit Toledo, an hour\u2019s drive from Madrid. It\u2019s where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived peacefully together in the 13th century\u2014a rare feat in that time. Ask your Explorica Tour Director about Toledo’s diverse cultural and religious history, and take a day to explore the Moorish-designed Puerta Bisagra, the Toledo Cathedral and the St Mary’s Synagogue.<\/p>\n

It’s not just Spaniards who combine this tradition of solemnity and celebration at Easter. Semana Santa takes place all around the world from Costa Rica to Vietnam. And some festivities come with a twist. In Mexico, it’s not uncommon to find people celebrating at the beach. And in the small Italian town of Panicale, locals celebrate the end of Lent by rolling huge cheese wheels around its city’s walls. But no matter where you choose to spend Semana Santa, make sure to get your beauty sleep. The height of the Semana Santa parade begins late on Holy Thursday and doesn’t end until well into the night on Good Friday. Now, where’s the nearest Starbucks?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane. At least that’s what you’ll be hoping for if you’re planning a trip to see Spain’s infamous Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in April. Semana Santa is a week (or two in Toledo) of outdoor festivities marking the Passion of Christ\u2014the Christian events of Jesus’ trial Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,63,172],"tags":[98,99,96,83,97],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-parents","category-students","category-teachers","tag-holy-week","tag-semana-santa","tag-seville","tag-spain","tag-spain-educational-tours","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":653,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions\/653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}