Easter Spanish traditions are slightly different to what you may be used to. In England for example, people celebrate with Easter Egg hunts, family gatherings and lots and lots of chocolate. In Spain it is slightly different, although the family focus remains the same. Easter holidays in Spain are called Semana Santa (Holy Week) or Pascua (Easter), and it mainly revolves around religion (for some), family time and specific gastronomic delicacies.
Below I’ll break down a few of these Easter Spanish traditions:
Semana Santa
Holy Week is celebrated there with lots of processions on the streets. Each procession symbolises each biblical stage Jesus had to go through on his last few days. This religious tradition takes place in almost every city and town around Spain, particularly in Sevilla, Andalucía. Here are the best places to experience Semana Santa in Spain:
- Andalusia
- Castilla y Leon
- Toledo
- Madrid
Here is a very typical procession:
Gastronomic Delicacies
Eggs
One of the most symbolic elements of Easter are the eggs. So naturally in Spain we have traditions related to eggs as well. If you’re a child in school (like I was once upon a time), your teacher would have asked you to bring an egg or two to school. They could be boiled or raw.
They would teach us how to empty them so we could paint them in the classroom with our friends. Then we’d bring them home to mum and dad. Some families also do this at home, of course.
Mona de Pascua
This is a wonderful dessert that is typically eaten during these days, especially in Cataluña, Valencia and the Mediterranean coast of Spain. In the past, these were oven baked biscuits, made with flour, eggs and sugar. This has now evolved to a type of cake or pastry with sprinkles and a boiled egg on top. Although some bakeries make them with a kinder egg on top which I personally prefer. This cake is made in all shapes and sizes for children and adults to enjoy picking whichever one they want.
Silly fact: While eating the Mona, it is typical to break a boiled egg in someone’s forehead. This is a very funny tradition that most Spaniards enjoy.
Torrijas
“Torrijas”, also known as French toasts, mustn’t be forgotten during Semana Santa. This tradition dates back to the 15th century when the nuns prepared it during the strict Lent season to take advantage of the leftover bread. The recipe is very simple, with a high energy contribution in order to compensate for the fast. This recipe usually involves bread, milk, eggs, cinnamon, citrus and sugar.
Longaniza de Pascua
Another common food eaten during Pascua in Spain is the “Longaniza de Pascua”. This is a type of sausage, quite salty and slightly hard to chew. In Valencia, “Longaniza de Pascua” is normally eaten with the “Mona de Pascua”.
Pestiño
The Pestiño is a typical sweet from Andalucia usually eaten not only during Holy Week but also at Christmas. This is why this particular dessert is extremely difficult to find any other time of the year! The traditional recipe includes flour, olive oil, lard, anise, citrus and honey.
Flying the kite
It is typical of Holy Monday, to go to the countryside with the family to spend the day. On this trip it is also very common to go walking with the family if the weather is good enough (which tends to be). This is a chance for people to also take a kite with them to fly it and play with the kids.