During Easter, I started reflecting back to Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain. Palm Sunday was when everything started. Every day they have processions that represent a scene from Holy Week or one of the saints. The processions have a float-like thing carried by several strong men (they are covered up, so it looks like it is floating). There are also Nazarenos (members of the fraternities that make up the procession, they are dressed in tunics and with antifaz to go anonymous) and a live band that go with the procession, down the narrow streets of the city, from their church to the Cathedral for a sacred ritual and back.
It was really interesting to be in a crowd of people watching the procession. The 
Sevillanos respected the tradition and in many ways revered it. It is so interesting to see such a secular society that is completely dead to religion, having reverence for a powerful tradition. It was sad because I found the processions very powerful, but everyone around me just saw it as a cool tradition that had no significant link to their lives. It is sad how blind people can be. However, it did give me a new perspective on Easter. It was incredible to really reflect on Christ’s death and resurrection for a whole week. The entire city closed down in order to spend a week focusing on Christ. There is definitely something we can learn from this!
This video is a great little glimpse into what Sevilla is like 
Skip ahead to 1:45 for just the Semana Santa part.
This is another video of a procession from Semana Santa:
[...] Semana Santa has such a significant effect on the culture in Sevilla. Even when it is not April, you will randomly find people practicing their pasos in the streets and there will be mini pasos for random occasions. People practicing for Semana Santa [...]
By: Experiencing España « Lauren’s Adventures Abroad on June 11, 2011
at 6:30 pm