Easter week in Benidorm, a festival full of tradition

Benidorm is a city that can offer you more than just sun and beach, during the Easter week you can enjoy one of the most dug in traditions in Spain: the processions.

From Friday the 11th ‘Viernes de Dolores'(Friday of Sorrows) until Sunday the 20th ‘Domingo de Resurrección'(Easter Sunday), there are loads of very special processions that can be seen in Benidorm during the Easter week.

But maybe the real attractive thing of spending the Easter week in Benidorm is the possibility of combining the dug in traditions and the beach, the sun and the large leisure options that a hotel or camping in Benidorm can offer you in Holy Week.

The processions, the main attraction during the Easter week in Benidorm
Easter is one of the most loved and awaited traditional festival during the year. In Benidorm, you have to add to this its touristic attractive for the foreigners that get surprised with the light, the colours and the penitent outfits, all in velvet and with hood. Every single procession, with its different Passion float, refers to a scene and a character of the Bible showing the Passion Week that Christ suffer until his Death and Resurrection.

The Easter processions history starts in Spain at the end of the Middle Ages when the Franciscan priests started organizing them. Ever since then there have been some changes and times that due to the Spanish particular history these processions stopped or were reduced. Nevertheless, processions still come out on the streets every year, bringing illusion to the believers and an art and colour show for everyone.

One of the processions with more fans in Benidorm is the Maundy Thursday one: The solemn Our Lord Jesus in His agony on the Mount of Olives brotherhood that represents, as seen on its name, the Mount of Olives scene. It is a night procession like nearly all of them and goes round the Benidorm streets starting and finishing in the ‘San Juan Bautista’ church.

The procession of the Resurrection Sunday is an important one too in Benidorm. The thrones of the Lord and the Virgin come on the streets from the ‘San Jaime’ church for the Encounter Procession. It is very impressive when it starts early in the morning because of the special light that time a day.

Easter events in Benidorm
There are different religious events over the Easter week in which people can take part. A surprising characteristic about the Spanish eastern coast processions is the palm leaf specially prepare for the processions, you can blessed them in different churches. Other acts that you can enjoy over Easter are the triduums, the Stations of the Cross or attend to the special masses.

Apart from all the religious events, Benidorm will offer another dug in tradition in the Spanish eastern coast for the Easter week: bullfight. For this year 2014 two different festivals have been prepared: one bullfight and a shown on horseback.

Gastronomy, another interesting thing during the Easter week in Benidorm
The Easter week has a ‘special flavour’. It is tradition to have a specific cake for tea time. The traditional. ‘Mona de Pascua’, made with flour, eggs, milk, oil and sugar and topped with a boiled egg. You can find them with plenty of different shapes: circles, animals, extra big… The enormous chocolate eggs are typical too. Another typical dessert on these dates are the ‘torrijas’, made with stale bread dunk in milk and fried after wards, although this dessert is more typical of the centre area of Spain.

Benidorm Easter programme

Friday 11th of April, FRIDAY OF SORROWS
20’30 h. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. Announcement of the Holy Week.

Sunday 13h of April, PALM SUNDAY
10´30 h. Ermita de Sanz. Benediction of the Palms followed by a Holy Mass.

11’00 h. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.

Church of San Jaime. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the streets Santa Faz, Paseo de la Carretera,Alameda, Mayor and Plaza de San Jaime, followed by a Holy Mass.

Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala). Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the streets Alfaz del Pi, Santander, Mont-Benidorm, Pajares and Plaza de las Tiendas.

11’30 h. Church of San Francisco de Asís. Benediction of the Palms and Procession, followed by a Holy Mass.

11’45 h. Church of Nuestra Señora del Mar. Benediction of the Palms and Procession, followed by a Holy Mass.

12’00 h. Church of El Buen Pastor. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.

12’30 h. Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.

20’30 h. El Buen Pastor Church. Solemn Procession of Our Father Jesus of Health and Humbleness and Our Ladyof the Hope and Peace escorted by the music band “la Primitiva” from Callosa, , the Musical Society Virgen del Sufragio and the National Police of Benidorm.

Itinerary: Church of El Buen Pastor, Puig Campana, Roldán, Almendros, Limones, Maravall, Apolo XI, Jazmín, Plaza de España and Puig Campana, to get back to the Church.

Sunday 13th, Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th of April
19’00 h. Mass sung by the Choir of the Church and triple duet for Our Father Jesus Nazarene. Church of San Jaime.

Monday 14th , Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th of April
19’00 h. Triple duet for the Christ of the Forgiveness and Good Death and Holy Mass. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

19’30 h. Holy Mass and Confessions. Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala).

Wednesday 16th of April, HOLY WEDNESDAY
22’00 h. Solemn Procession by the Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Nazarene. Church of San Jaime.

Itinerary: Plaza de San Jaime, Mayor, Alameda, Plaza de la Cruz, Ruzafa, La Biga,Tomás Ortuño, Apolo XI, Almendros, Paseo de la Carretera, Santa Faz and Plaza de San Jaime.

Thursday 17th of April, HOLY THURSDAY
19’30 h. Holy Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord and Ritual Washing of Feet. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

19’30 h. Holy Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord. Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala) and Church of San Jaime.

21’00 h. Solemn Procession of the Silence at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena with the Brotherhoods of the Last Supper, the Christ of the Forgiveness and Good Death and the Virgin of Sorrow.
Itinerary: Church of la Almudena, Ginés Cartagena, Capitán Cortés, Castellana, Velázquez, Acacias, Goya, Jardines, and Ginés Cartagena, to finish in the Church.

21’00 h. Solemn Procession of the Brotherhood of Our Lord during his Agony at the Olive Trees Mountain.
San Juan Bautista Church (La Cala).

Itinerary: Plaza de las Tiendas, Pajares, Mont-Benidorm, Vicente Llorca Alòs, Murtal, Santander, Mont-Benidorm, Pajares, Plaza de las Tiendas, to get back to the Church.

23’00 h. Holy Hour and Way of the Cross at the Church of San Jaime.

23’00 h. Holy Hour at the Churches of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Francisco de Asís and El Buen Pastor

24´00 h. Holy Hour at the Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala).

01´00 h. Holy Hour at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

Friday 18th of April, GOOD FRIDAY
07’00 h. Procession from San Jaime Church going to Monte Calvario (Old Graveyard), where the Way of the Cross and he Sermon of the Seven Words will take place.

20’30 h. General Procession of the Holy Burial, with all the Brotherhoods, departing at San Jaime Church.

Itinerary: Plaza de San Jaime, Mayor, Alameda, Los Ángeles, Pintor Lozano, Ricardo, Martínez Alejos, Paseo de la Carretera, Santa Faz and Plaza de San Jaime.

23’30 h. Way of the Cross. San Juan Bautista Church (La Cala). Brotherhood of Our Lord during his Agony at the Olive Trees Mountain. Departure from the San Juan Bautista Church going to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Sea (Tossal).

Sunday 20th of April, EASTER SUNDAY
08’00 h. Procession of the Encounter of the Lord and the Virgin. Departure from San Jaime Church.

Afterwards “Embassy”.