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Spain is far from being homogeneous, culturally speaking. The Iberian Peninsula was for ages both the end of the world (there is literally a county in Galicia called Finisterre, from the Latin finis terrae, “the land’s end”) and the crossroads of continental Europe and Northern Africa. Celtic, Visigoths, ancient Iberian, Arabic, Jewish (Sephardic), Phoenician and Roman traditions (Spain gave the Roman empire three emperors: Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, no less) made up, throughout the centuries, what we now understand as Spanish culture — hence, its characteristic mixture of flavors, colors, mores and manners.
Spain is also one of the earliest cradles of Christianity. Even though we won’t ever know for sure if Paul fulfilled his intention to go to Spain (cf. Rom 15:24-28), the early Church (as attested by some of Eusebius’ and Clement of Rome’s texts) believed that his appeal to Caesar was successful, that he was acquitted of the charges against him (at least for a while), and that he spent some years in freedom — until he was again imprisoned and, finally, sentenced to death. Indeed, some of these early texts say that Paul preached “in the East and in the West” (this is literally what we read in Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians) and, for Romans, “the farthest bounds of the West” unequivocally meant Hispania, Spain. By the middle of the second century, as Otto F.A. Meinardus explains in his article on traditional and folklore tales around Paul’s missionary trip to Spain, “Christians believed that the apostle’s intended visit to Spain was in fact realized.”
Be that as it may, tradition holds yet another apostle made it to Spain as early as the first century: James, the legendary Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of Spain. Plenty of local traditions claim that James traveled from Jerusalem to Hispania to preach, after Pentecost, arriving on the peninsula by boat via Gibraltar or Tarragona — which was, by then, a major Roman capital. It is no wonder, then, that Christian traditions in the peninsula are as ancient and diverse as the different sources comprising them. Here’s a brief list of some Lenten traditions you can find in Spain if you visit the peninsula before Holy Week. Although some of them might not sound particularly penitential, they all surely get Spaniards in the right mood for the Semana Mayor — Holy Week.
Continued below.
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Spain is also one of the earliest cradles of Christianity. Even though we won’t ever know for sure if Paul fulfilled his intention to go to Spain (cf. Rom 15:24-28), the early Church (as attested by some of Eusebius’ and Clement of Rome’s texts) believed that his appeal to Caesar was successful, that he was acquitted of the charges against him (at least for a while), and that he spent some years in freedom — until he was again imprisoned and, finally, sentenced to death. Indeed, some of these early texts say that Paul preached “in the East and in the West” (this is literally what we read in Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians) and, for Romans, “the farthest bounds of the West” unequivocally meant Hispania, Spain. By the middle of the second century, as Otto F.A. Meinardus explains in his article on traditional and folklore tales around Paul’s missionary trip to Spain, “Christians believed that the apostle’s intended visit to Spain was in fact realized.”
Be that as it may, tradition holds yet another apostle made it to Spain as early as the first century: James, the legendary Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of Spain. Plenty of local traditions claim that James traveled from Jerusalem to Hispania to preach, after Pentecost, arriving on the peninsula by boat via Gibraltar or Tarragona — which was, by then, a major Roman capital. It is no wonder, then, that Christian traditions in the peninsula are as ancient and diverse as the different sources comprising them. Here’s a brief list of some Lenten traditions you can find in Spain if you visit the peninsula before Holy Week. Although some of them might not sound particularly penitential, they all surely get Spaniards in the right mood for the Semana Mayor — Holy Week.
Continued below.
Prepare for Holy Week by exploring the customs of Spain
Daniel Esparza explains some of the Lenten traditions of Spain, one of the earliest cradles of Christianity. From eggs to praying for the poor souls to Passion plays, some of the customs might not sound particularly penitential, but they surely get Spaniards in the right mood for the Holy Week.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
