Friday, April 02, 2010

Good Friday honors Our Lady of Sorrows

Some Mexicans celebrate Good Friday with a slightly different twist. While they recognize the day Christ was crucified, they also place a heavy emphasis on his mother, Our Lady of Sorrows.

They honor her for all the pain and suffering she endured in allowing her son to be sacrificed to save humanity. In the photo above, women marching in the procession in Puebla crank noisemakers in the shape of a cross.

The event attracted thousands to the Zócalo, the main square in front of the Cathedral. The procession included representatives from four parishes carrying images of Christ or the Virgin.



In the week before Good Friday, it is a tradition in at least some parts of Mexico to erect altars like the one above to honor Our Lady of Sorrows, whose small statue is at the top.

In a mixing with native myths and traditions, the altar celebrates Our Lady as a fertility goddess, with offerings of fruit, corn, seeds and flowers. We have seen a number of altars like this one.

The air was filled with the smell of incense, which put me in mind of days as an altar boy serving Mass during Holy Week.

Each parish has a marching band. It gets pretty noisy as you´ll see in the 1-minute video below.






Young people play a prominent role in all the Holy Week rituals.

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