Over the weekend, Christians from different corners of the world celebrated Easter in fervor. The celebrations took place in various forms: from religious processions to colorful parades and bunny-and-eggs celebrations. Last year, I was fortunate to witness one of the biggest Easter celebrations in the world – Seville’s Holy Week (Semana Santa) celebrations are known to be know the biggest and grandest in Spain, with larger-than-life processions taking place through out the city. This year, let’s go to different corners of the world to see how Easter is celebrated. From Europe to Latin America, I’ll let these photos take us around the world.
Antigua, Guatemala
Alfombras – or flower carpets – line the streets of Antigua, Guatemala, during the Holy Week. Photo by Marina K. Villatoro.
Colorful floors in Antigua, Guatemala. Photo by Marina K. Villatoro.
Seville, Spain
Religious processions in the city of Seville.
Brotherhoods – dressed in shiny robe and pointed hoods (strangely resembling the Klu Klux Klan) carry candles and incense parade around the city.
Florence, Italy
A medieval parade takes the streets of Florence, Italy. Photo by Roger Wo.
Band dressed in tights and ancestral costumes. Photo by Roger Wo.
Kiev, Ukraine
Hand-made Easter eggs in Ukraine. Photo by kurisurokku.
Pennsylvania, USA
It’s a tradition to hang Easter eggs on trees in many parts of the world. Here’s a colorful Easter egg tree in Selinsgrove, PA. Photo by ClatieK.
New York City, USA
Easter takes on a funky spin at the annual Easter Parade in downtown New York City. Photo by Nuno Luz.
This year I had the chance to visit Antigua right at the beginning of Lent, when they start building a few carpets inside the churches. They are so colorful and artistic! I wish I stayed more time to see the whole celebration till Easter. But, I had the chance to see NYC parade, since I'm living here. It was really fun and there were some crazy costumes (as usual in NY!)
I love the robes in Seville…they're so cool when they're not associated with the KKK in any way! Even though they look almost the same, I read somewhere that the similarity wasn't intentional.
!Felices Semana Santa a todos!
Wow, that's really interesting. I never realized people celebrated Easter in ways other than Easter egg hunts, church services, and Easter dinners.