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| Processional figure of the tortured Christ, Merida, MX |
The following video shows a very dramatic Good Friday night service that I filmed in Merida, Mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMzCIxbLHWA (this is a clickable link). It is best to watch it after reading the information in this post. ------------------------------------
This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day, according to the New Testament, that Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem. It is the beginning of Holy Week, a time that is celebrated with much ritual and many processions throughout the Latin American world.
Holy Week, there, is very different from the observance in mainstream U.S. religion, in which Easter Day itself is the main event. In Mexico, Easter Day is just another Sunday, with church services; the drama is what comes before.
Although the parades and processions that are at the heart of Holy Week in Mexico are fascinating to view, a unique celebration is the one held on the night of Good Friday which symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus. During this celebration the crucified Jesus is transformed into the resurrected, victorious Christ. There is a special figure of this Christ, Cristo Resucitado, that appears in all churches after Good Friday and remains during the church season of Easter.
This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day, according to the New Testament, that Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem. It is the beginning of Holy Week, a time that is celebrated with much ritual and many processions throughout the Latin American world.
Holy Week, there, is very different from the observance in mainstream U.S. religion, in which Easter Day itself is the main event. In Mexico, Easter Day is just another Sunday, with church services; the drama is what comes before.
Although the parades and processions that are at the heart of Holy Week in Mexico are fascinating to view, a unique celebration is the one held on the night of Good Friday which symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus. During this celebration the crucified Jesus is transformed into the resurrected, victorious Christ. There is a special figure of this Christ, Cristo Resucitado, that appears in all churches after Good Friday and remains during the church season of Easter.
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| Cristo Resucitado, Merida, MX |
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| Cristo Resucitado |
The religious service in which Jesus is symbolically resurrected occurs on the night of Good Friday, about 9:30 pm. Different churches perform this service differently, but the resurrection of Jesus is always accompanied by light of some sort, as can be seen in the video.
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