Easter in Mexico
Easter celebration in Mexico is a fusion of Christian rituals
and native Indian traditions. In the days of imperialism, the Christian
missionaries as a part of their effort to convert non- Christian Indians to
Christianity, allowed indigenous people to blend their customs with Easter
rites, and many of these customs appear in passion plays. But in the face of a
cultural onslaught from American media vehicles, many of Mexico's age-old
traditions are falling out of favor in large cities such as Guadalajara.
Easter in Mexico is a little different from the rest of the world. In Mexico,
it is a combination of Semana Santa (Holy Week - Palm Sunday to Easter
Saturday) and Pascua (Resurrection Sunday until the following Saturday). On
Palm Sunday people use elaborately woven palms. Weavers ply their craft outside
churches, and worshipers follow the priest into church with the woven fronds.
Later, those palms are traditionally hung on the doors of Mexican homes to ward off evil.
In many communities across Mexico, locals stage Passion Plays
depicting Biblical events such as the Last Supper, the Betrayal, and the
Procession of the 12 Stations of the Cross, the Crucifixion and the
Resurrection. The enactments are often spectacularly staged, costumed and
acted, with volunteers preparing for their roles for nearly the full year
leading up to Semana Santa. In many communities, flagellation along with real
crucifixion is included. The performances are often wondrously dramatic,
costumed and enacted, with contestants planning for their roles for about a year leading up to Semana Santa
The most spectacular of Easter traditions in Mexico is the burning
of a Judas effigy filled with firecrackers. This custom, which takes place Holy
Saturday, was outlawed in Guadalajara in the 1960s when several people died
from a massive explosion, but it still continues in rural areas. Judas effigy
is now a popular way to express anguish over some contemporary person,
frequently an unpopular politician. So every year it becomes interesting to see
who gets burnt in effigy this seasons’ ‘Sábado de Gloria’.