Semana Santa and Easter

Zoe and I had a very interesting cultural experience during Semana Santa while John visited Morocco with his Czech friends. Everyday, there were multiple religious processions throughout the streets with full marching bands and ornate heavy sculptures. Most surprising I think were the hooded men and women in these processions. It was shocking because the outfits look very similar to those of the KKK in the states. According to my Spanish teacher, the true meaning is one that dates back to the Middle Ages, when as punishment men and women were forced to wear pointed hats as they were dragged through the streets. Later, men and women began to wear the hats voluntarily as penance to God. The hoods were then added too keep their identities hidden since it was a personal act that only God needed to know about. The other big surprise, was how late these processions would last. During the week we had marching bands going past our bedroom window well into the night. Fortunately for me, Zoe is a very deep sleeper. Unfortunately for me, I am not. No amount of earplugs or white noise could mask the beating drums that paraded past our single paned windows. Thankfully, it lasted only one week. John made it home before Easter Sunday so we all had a fun time watching Zoe search for eggs and enjoy all of her fun Easter treats. I did my own egg hunt searching high and low for plastic eggs but in the end I just made my own out of paper maché. Zoe didn't seem to mind though since they still had yummy treats inside. Most of said treats were consumed by yours truly after the little rascal was in bed paired with a nice Spanish wine. Happy Easter :)