Experience the breathtaking Easter celebrations in Mallorca with processions, church services, and cultural spectacles. Discover more in my blog post!
Admittedly, the Mallorcans in their penitential garb look pretty scary.
Queen Sofia is already here: in time for the Semana Santa Santa in Mallorca!
What the Spanish royals think is good can't be all bad, even if you can't stay at the Marivent Palace like the two of them.
Easter - Mallorca's most important religious festival
Magnificent processions, church services and stagings - Easter on Mallorca is a great spectacle and is the most important religious festival of the year. With spring-like temperatures around 20 degrees, preparations for Holy Week are in full swing.
Nowhere else in Europe is the Passion of Christ celebrated as impressively as in Catholic Spain.
The celebrations start today - on Palm Sunday.
In the churches of the towns and villages of the island, the bells ring continuously, calling the faithful to devotion. According to ancient custom, churchgoers are blessed with palm and olive branches before walking through the streets in a long procession.
But don't worry, what looks like a big Ku Klux Klan event is really just the Easter parade of busters in pointed hats and robes.
Here you get all the tips where and when which procession takes place.
Click on the first picture to start the gallery:
Holy Thursday: Procession of the Blood of Christ in Palma de Mallorca
On Maundy Thursday, Palma becomes the centre of action on the island. The traditional procession of the blood takes place in the late afternoon. There are over 50 brotherhoods in Mallorca and it is a great honour to be invited to take part. This spectacle has been taking place in the streets of the old town since the 16th century. Masked figures in red robes and white hoods with narrow eye slits lead the procession, carrying long burning candles whose wax drips incessantly onto the pavement. They are followed by the penitents who drag oversized altars with saints through the streets, shouldering the "Nazarenos", the huge wooden crosses. The spectacle is accompanied by the rattling of chains, muffled drumbeats and the cracking of leather whips.
Stations of the Cross procession on Good Friday in Pollenca
The blood procession on Maundy Thursday is undoubtedly a highlight of Holy Week, but the Stations of the Cross procession on Good Friday in Pollença is a spectacle not to be missed. A huge wooden cross is erected at the top of Calvary, where two Roman soldiers line up at dusk. On the 365 steps of Calvary's staircase, 365 oil lamps are lit and before nightfall the statue of Christ is carried down from the chapel at the top of the mountain to the parish church in a mystical and atmospheric procession created by the flickering lights.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection through festive services and parades. The largest mass is held in Palma Cathedral. The reunion of the risen Christ and his mother is recreated in a joyous meeting procession. The men carry the statue of Jesus opposite the Virgin, who is carried by women accordingly. She bursts into joy at the sight of her Son, which is evident as the statue begins to bounce up and down.
Penitent Lollipop
Behind the scenes, things are not always quite so worn, so last time one of the penitents gave me a lollipop that was also wearing a hooded robe, or we could watch a statue being moved out of the church on a cart, which was accompanied by a lot of shouting and smoking.
A little tip:
If you don't want to have an empty fridge over the Easter holidays, you should shop in good time. On Mallorca, the shops are only officially open on Maundy Thursday.