As I am sure you all know, Easter is coming up very, very soon. Not only is it coming for you and your families, Uruguay is getting ready to celebrate it as well. However, in Uruguay, the celebrations start very early, in February.
In Uruguay, there are many Catholics that live here. Some of them that live here begin their Easter celebration on February 17, called Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. Lent is a time where Catholics decide to sacrifice something that they regularly have. It can be anything, from a favorite food or a t.v. show. Whatever it is that the person decides to give up has to be given up until Easter Sunday. The week before Easter Sunday in Uruguay, however, is called Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Also called Tourism Week, it is the week before Easter where a lot of people don't have to work and they have the opportunity to spend time with their families and do things like hiking, camping, and vacationing in different parts of Uruguay. If families don't go out, there are many festivals and celebrations within Uruguay during Semana Santa. It is the week that leads up to Easter, and so it is a week where Catholics celebrate the last week of the life of Jesus before he was crucified. They celebrate by reenacting specific events that happened in the last week of Jesus' life. Only during this week are there festivals in the streets where people carry large wooden crosses. There are alters and religious decorations throughout the city for this entire week.
On Thursday, the Last Supper is reenacted, and then on Friday, it is followed by Viernes Santo. Viernes Santo is a very serious day because it is celebrating the day when Jesus was crucified. The Saturday after Viernes Santo is called Sábado de Gloria, the day between when Jesus was crucified and when he was resurrected, and that day is filled with anticipation for the celebration that is to follow the next day. What we call Easter Sunday in the United States is called Domingo de Resurrección. The day that Jesus rose from the dead is celebrated with feasting, singing, and dancing. On Domingo de Resurrección, Lent is over, so whatever somebody went without for a few days, they can have it again.
The food that Uruguayans typically eat on Pascua is called Pascualina.
It is made by filled a thin, flaky crust full of spinach and eggs, as the picture shows. It is typically only eaten during Easter. My favorite food that they have during Semana Santa is a candy filled egg that you can see in almost every grocery store in Uruguay.
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