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Good Friday / Holy Week |
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Good Friday (Viernes Santo) is the third major event of Holy Week (Semana Santa). Good Friday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday or Easter Friday. This Christian observance commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Good Friday is widely recognized and celebrated both here on the island and throughout Mexico as both a religious observance and a very important holiday vacation period with most schools being off for two (2) weeks with the week preceding Easter (Holy Week /Semana Santa) and the week following Week of Easter (Semana de Pascua).
Good Friday recalls the crucifixion of Christ. On this day, all across Mexico in almost all cities and towns there are solemn religious processions in which statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary are carried through town by the locals. The is a time to observe and focuses on the pain and sacrifice of Mary knowing that Jesus had to die to save mankind. This image of the Virgin is usually dressed in purple and altars are set up to her on this day. Often the participants of these processions dress in costumes to evoke the time of Jesus.
Another very popular portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus is the performance of passion plays. These are dramatic recreations of the crucifixion of Christ, are presented in many communities throughout the country. The most famous passion play in Mexico is held in Iztapalapa to the east of Mexico City. This is a massive production that has over 4,000 local residents performing various re-enactments related to the last week of Jesus's life from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. This particular production has been performed annually since 1843 and today the spectacle attracts over 2 million spectators, mostly Mexican.
As noted, this is a very popular vacation time of the season. Most companies will close from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and many will also be closed the week after Easter Sunday. Originally, this was for the religious observance of all the events of Holy Week, but many these days just use the time to go on vacation. Beaches are the most popular spot at this time of the year, so you will definitely need to keep this in mind if planning your own personal travel during this period. But no worries about your travel at this time as while it is a time nationally for vacation for many, the exception is those of us in the tourism industry, we will not take time off during this period so you will find all hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. fully staffed and ready to make your vacation the best possible experience.
Again, if you will be visiting us during Holy Week and would like to partake in the many religious events on the island on Good Friday and would like information about the churches in Cozumel, please feel free to click on our link - Cozumel Churches and the under the "Select Facility Type", select Places of Worship to see the various churches!
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Copyright 2000 - 2024 Sherri Davis, All Rights Reserved. Contributors retain the copyright to their work. Please do not take art or written content without permission. Other graphics and reference materials are used and attributed as per the Fair Use Provision of The Copyright Act and individual terms of use.
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