Easter vocabulary

Learn the Easter vocabulary and get ready to live this festivity Valencian style!

If the words “pasos”, “hermandad” or “mona de Pascua” don’t ring a bell, it’s time to catch up on Spanish Easter traditions.
Easter is just a few days away, so let’s get cracking!

Semana Santa

This is the week in the Christian calendar that commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday (Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem) and ends with Easter Sunday.

In some parts of Spain, Holy Week is celebrated in a more heartfelt and spectacular way than in others.
In fact, in cities such as Seville, Malaga and Cuenca, the Semana Santa has been declared of International Tourist Interest.

Although each place has its own peculiarities, here are the main elements of this religious celebration:

• Procesión: Christian religious procession where the passion and death of Christ is represented.
• Pasos: or “Episodes of the Passion of Christ” consist of floats on which religious images are carried in procession. They
• are usually accompanied by musical bands. They are also known as “andás” or “tronos”.
• Hermandades: congregation of devotees to an image of Christ or the Virgin, with a pious, religious or assistance purposes.
• Cofradías: congregation of devotees from the same profession. For example, the fishermen’s brotherhood.
• Penitentes: members of the cofradias who walk in procession, wearing tunics and capirote (a cone-shaped cap that covers the entire head and face)
• Costaleros: those who carry the floats (from the inside) in the procession. The name comes from the word “costal”, a piece of cloth made of tow that forms part of the costalero’s clothing.

Valencia is famous for its Semana Santa Marinera, which, as the name suggests, is celebrated in the seaside neighbourhoods of Cabañal and Cañamelar.

If you are planning to stay in Valencia during these days, we encourage you to attend some of the events or processions of the Semana Santa Marinera. Here you can consult the programme and timetables.

Don’t miss the chance to experience one of the oldest and most exciting religious and folkloric traditions in Spain!

Typical dishes and dessert

In our essential Easter vocabulary, the gastronomic part cannot be missing.

As you will have seen, Spanish gastronomy adapts to all kinds of palates and varies according to the regions, the seasons and the festivities.

So, what can’t be missing from a Spanish table at Easter?
Let’s take a look!

• Mona de Pascua: This is a sweet of Arab origin made with flour, eggs, salt and sugar. It is usually decorated with a chocolate egg, a painted boiled egg or coloured aniseeds.
• Longaniza de Pascua: Cured sausage made from pork and spices. As its name suggests, it is usually eaten during Easter and is typical of the Valencian Community, the region of Murcia and the Aragonese region of Maestrazgo.
• Torrijas: Dessert with very ancient origins (1st century). It is made with slices of stale bread, egg, milk, sugar, lemon and cinnamon. Before becoming a typical Lent dessert, it was usually prepared for women who had just given birth.
• Potaje de garbanzos y espinacas (chickpea and spinach stew): A dish of Medieval origin that is usually eaten all over Spain. It is especially popular in Andalusia.
• Pestiños: Flour and egg dough fried and dipped in honey. It is one of the pillars of Spanish patisserie, especially Andalusian.
• Buñuelos de Viento: Very typical in Madrid. It is a fried dough made of flour, milk and egg. In their most calorific (and sweetest) version, they are filled with cream or custard.

Finally, we close this small gastronomic tour with the essential dishes of Easter in the Valencian region. Find them here!

Traditions and customs

Easter Monday: In some regions or areas of Spain (Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Balearic Islands, etc.) the Monday following Easter Sunday is a bank holiday. On this day it is customary to get together with friends and family to eat the mona and to go out of town for a picnic or a walk in nature.

Boiled and painted eggs: Decorating boiled eggs is a tradition that Spain shares with other countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria and Germany. This custom dates back to the centuries (from the 9th to the 18th century) when the Catholic Church prohibited the consumption of eggs (in addition to meat) during Lent.
In order to preserve the eggs for consumption on Easter Sunday, people used to boil and paint them, thus distinguishing them from fresh eggs.

Palms and olive branches: At Easter it is common to see palms or olive branches hanging from balconies and windows of houses. This is another custom of religious origin, evoking Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Chocolate bunnies and eggs: Giving chocolate in the shape of a bunny or an egg is a sweet tradition that is loved by kids and adults alike. Take a stroll around Valencia’s bakeries and try some of them!

We hope that this brief Easter vocabulary will help you to understand what is going to happen in Valencia over the next few days.

From our Spanish language school El Rincón del Tándem, we encourage you to immerse yourself in the world of local traditions to fully live your experience in the capital of the Turia.

Happy Easter!