Editor’s note: Many of the Catholic rites noted here will not be celebrated publicly, if at all, this year due to Covid-19 precautions.
In this predominately Catholic country religious observances mark the Lenten and Holy Week season with variety and deep devotion – and special Mexican flair.
Lent is a time of prayer and abstinence culminating in the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, the most important event of the liturgical calendar.
The devout of Mexico began to move out of their somber Lenten practices a week ago Friday, April 3, with the observances of the day of the “Virgen de Dolores” (Virgin of Sorrows).
Less dour than the name implies, the day is traditionally characterized by incendios (fires) which are not really fires at all, but brightly decorated altars with a portrait of the Virgin of Sorrows at the pinnacle.
These altars are one example of the special veneration of, and spiritual affinity for, the image and concept of the sorrowing mother of Christ that emerged in Mexico shortly after the 16th century mass conversion of the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
Holy Week began last week with traditional Palm Sunday processions and blessing of beautifully woven palms. The celebration commemorates the Christian belief of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. When he entered the city, Jesus was accompanied by numerous followers and those who preceded him had strewn his path with palm fronds.
Palm Sunday was first celebrated in the 300s by Christians in Jerusalem. Beginning with an exultant procession at the Mount of Olives the bishop enacted the role of Jesus and rode on an ass. Children sang and waved palm branches.
In Mexico, palms are woven into unusual and handsome patterns and shapes. The faithful carry the palms to be blessed by Catholic priests before each Church’s procession begins.
After Palm Sunday, years ago, it was the practice to fasten the palms on or near each door to guard against any evil that might attempt to enter. Often, Mexican Catholics would seek protection from approaching storms by taking a piece of the blessed palm and placing it out in the open. The dry palm was then set on fire and the belief was that prayers for protection from the storm would rise to the heavens with the smoke.
Seven Temples
Mexican traditions associated with the Maundy Thursday commemoration of the Last Supper consist of visiting seven churches in one day and is apparently derived from a similar custom in Rome. More symbolically, the seven templos (temples) are said to represent Jesus Christ’s last seven sites visited by Jesus before he took up the cross: Bethany, the Mount of Olives, and the palaces of Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate again.
In Guadalajara, Holy Thursday is also marked by a gathering of all of the city’s Catholic priests at the city Cathedral, a mass celebrated by the bishop, and the priests’ renewal of their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Many communities throughout Mexico also begin the Easter Passion Play Holy Thursday. The plays depict the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross. The community of Ajijic presents the largest Passion Play in the Guadalajara area, the culmination of months of preparation.
The starring roles of Jesus or Mary, his mother, are highly coveted, though representing the Messiah can literally be a heavy cross to bear. “Jesuses” are no longer nailed to the cross during the plays, as happened in years past. However, Mexican news reports each year mention individual penitents who persist in the practice.
Christ’s death on the cross on Good Friday is observed with extreme solemnity, fasting and prayer. Most Catholic churches hold a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), reciting the Passion of Christ.
Passion plays also take place in other parts of the region, including San Martin de los Flores in Tlaquepaque. The biggest drama in the country is staged in the Mexico City district of Iztapalapa, where crowds more than a million strong turn out each year to witness the spectacle.
Judas Burning
The most spectacular custom of Holy Saturday, the interim between Christ’s death and His joyful rising on Easter Sunday, is the burning of Judas (singular Juda), the generic term for flammable or explosive effigies of the Biblical Judas or of the devil. While the Judas or devil conflagrations are more common in the smaller pueblos, modern versions have crept into the larger cities where targets for public burning include current political “devils” such as foreign debt, inflation and unpopular politicians.
Another popular custom of the past that has been revived is dousing friends, relatives, or for that matter, anyone, anywhere with buckets of water. While it was popular, this tradition made driving around Guadalajara a dampening experience. In the 1990s, the custom has been prohibited and is enforced by public officials out of concern for dwindling city water supplies. Still, if you pass by one of the city’s many fountains that day, it would be well to be careful.
Resurrection
When the glorious day of Easter finally arrives, causing a 180-degree reverse in emotions, the day dawns bright and cheery with profusion of flowers and uplifting song. Even the less devout, having absented themselves from services the rest of the year, find their way to church for their annual dose of religious fervor.
Many indigenous groups have adapted Catholic beliefs, brought here by the Spaniards, to their ancient pre-Columbian traditions and rites.
In Sonora, for example, numerous groups with names such as Fariscos (Pharisees) and cemastiantes (descendants of ancient wise men and shamans), dance every night leading up to “La Gloria” (The Glory – Easter). Dressed in scarves, leather belts and ankle rattles, the men dance to the music of drums set in water and to one-string violins. Members of such celebratory societies often join while very young, pledging to dance for a certain number of years in exchange for divine favor, such as health for a seriously ill relative.
The same reasons, though inspired by Christian belief, lead fervent believers in the states of Michoacan, Guerrero and other areas to become penetentes (penitents), who parade through village and barrio streets several times during Holy Week. In Taxco, a traditional penitente is dressed in black with a black hood, carries a tied cluster of cactus branches on his back like the crossbar of a crucifix, and holds a lighter candle in each hand.