How Easter is honored in many Mexican cities
Easter is a very important time in the lives of all Mexicans who profess the Catholic faith. The Easter celebration is honored at church and you won't find bunnies and jelly beans on Easter morning, because the holiday is a holy time.The celebration of Easter actually begins with Lent. Lent is a time of penance, conversion, prayer and of living their baptism in true faith by the day-to-day deeds of their lives. The celebration begins on Ash Wednesday, when many communities gather at the parish church to acknowledge their faith and repent of their sins.
On Ash Wednesday and all Fridays throughout Lent, most people fast and abstain from eating meat. This is a time when the "Capirotada" is eaten. "Capirotada" is a kind of dessert made of sliced crusty rolls, raisins, pecans, buttermilk, cheese, brown sugar, tomatoes, onions, plantains and other secrets of Mexican cuisine. This may sound like a strange combination, but it is very popular in Mexico and there are many Americans who enjoy it as well.
On the Friday of passion Week, before Good Friday, people set up altars in their homes with the image of "Our Lady of Sorrows", and decorate them with pinked tissue-paper cutout, plants, chamomile flowers, cala lilies, candles and diverse figures representing the story of Salvation. Fresh fruit drinks are offered to visitors this week.
Holy Week, or Major Week, when people live their faith with most intensity, begins on Palm Sunday. Many cities have a procession through the main streets of town and with the blessing of the palms in the parish church.
One thing you will not find during the Easter celebration in Mexico will be bunnies and jelly beans. Some supermarkets may carry them, but most people stay away from the commercial trappings of the holiday.
These are American customs that have not carried into Mexico. In Mexico one thing you will find during the week of Easter is a country on vacation. Nearly everyone in Mexico is granted time off from work or school during Holy Week. Many government offices and banks are closed, about the only places open are those catering to tourism.
Major highways in Mexico register their greatest flow of traffic during this holiday period. Many of the nation's isolated beach destinations are likely to be completely overtaken by large families of campers and day-trippers. Practically every major destination is booked solid this week, and tourists coming from outside of the country will find it nearly impossible to find a room or a airline reservation.
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