Podcast 107 - Easter week in the UK and Spain

Holy week and Easter in the UK and Spain - a comparison

Hello. Today I’m going to talk to you about Holy Week and Easter.

Easter eggs A2 B1 English

[This recording was made in 2018! The Queen of England is now is 95 and will be 96 on April 21st!] The word Easter in Spanish is Pascua. Easter begins on Easter Sunday or Easter Day. However, we usually call this time of year Easter. In fact, the Spanish Semana Santa is really Holy Week. This is a direct translation of Semana Santa. Holy Week is the end of Lent, which finishes on Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday.

Now, the first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday. This is Domingo de Ramos. In fact, Palm Sunday comes from the name of the tree – the palm tree. It is the day when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and the people greeted him. They greeted him by waving palm branches.

The next days of Holy Week are Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday. Then we have Maundy Thursday. It celebrates the last supper of Jesus and his disciples. In the United Kingdom there is a curious tradition on Maundy Thursday. This tradition is very old and was started during the reign of Edward the First in the thirteenth century or perhaps Edward the Fourth in the fifteenth century. The historians are not sure.

In this tradition, the king or queen gives out coins to certain people. These people used to be (used to be) poor people. But now they are usually pensioners. But the number of people is very important too. One woman and one man are chosen for each year of the age of the king or queen. So, this year, Queen Elizabeth the Second, will give out special Maundy coins to 92 women and 92 men. In fact, the queen is 91 years old. Her birthday is on April the 21st and she was born in 1926. But she is in her 92nd year. Well, the queen has TWO birthdays. She has her official birthday in June – complicated! But that is another story!

The next day in Holy Week is Good Friday. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and the death of Jesus on the cross. Why do we say Good Friday? It is not a good day! Well, one theory is that "good" comes from the word 'God'. So, really, it is God's Day. But there are other theories too. But it is true that the word 'good' in English comes from the word 'God'. For example, when we say 'goodbye', we are saying 'God be with you'.

Good Friday is a bank holiday in the UK.

The next day of Holy Week is Easter Saturday. This is the day when the body of Jesus lay in his tomb.

Easter Sunday or Easter Day is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the Catholic faith and especially in Seville, the most important thing about Holy Week is the Passion. There are processions in the streets with floats and bands. On each float, there is a carving of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Or perhaps there is a scene from the bible, which shows the events that happened during the last days of Jesus before he died. During the procession, the floats stop and sometimes a singer sings a special song called a saeta to the Jesus or Virgin Mary.

In the Protestant faith there is more emphasis on Easter Sunday. I have never seen a procession in the UK during Holy Week. But in Seville there are lots, of course. When I was a child in England, I remember we used to say 'Happy Easter' on Sunday morning. We used to have breakfast together with chocolate eggs or Easter eggs. The Easter egg represents the rebirth.

The day after Easter Sunday is Easter Monday. Easter Monday is also a bank holiday in the UK. So the holiday for working people is a nice four days. But schools usually have a holiday of two weeks. Lucky children!

Now, in some shops in Seville, in Spain, I see the Spanish can buy Easter eggs too. But I wonder, who buys these Easter eggs? This is not a Seville tradition. In Catalunya they eat Monas de Pascua. I don't know how to say that in English. But is this the same thing as the Easter egg? Or are Easter eggs in Spanish shops just commercialism? Perhaps someone can tell me.

In Seville they eat torrijas, which is sliced bread in milk and honey. Absolutely delicious! But they're not Easter eggs!

So, I'm going to finish now. Have a good Easter and bye for now!