Another Semana Santa

Being a mostly Catholic country Paraguay makes a pretty big deal out of Easter. "Semana Santa" as its called here starts with Palm Sunday and ends a few days after Easter. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays, most businesses are closed. Wednesday is chipa making day. Everyone makes hard cornbread shaped like doughnuts, a traditional Paraguayan food, in large quantities. The chipa will be consumed all day Friday and everyday after that until they give it all away or get sick of it.

Holy Thursday includes a fury of activity. Everyone spends the morning preparing for the "last supper" and whatever will be consumed Friday, mostly chipa, but also possibly sopa paraguaya, a softer cornbread, or fish soup. They eat lots of food on Thursday, then "fast" on Friday, which really means not eating meat.

Good Friday is a long lazy day. (Lucky me it was my birthday this year!) Nothing is open, including the small shops in the neighborhoods called dispensas.So if you need some t.p. or a bit of sugar you should have thought of that on Thursday or ask a neighbor. Of course the liquor store opened up in the afternoon for all those who forgot to stock-up on beer or already drank it all. Its eerily quiet because those who usually blast their music at all hours keep it turned off out of respect on the holy day.

Saturday it is pretty much back to normal. Most of the stores re-open and everyone back out in the street. Easter Sunday is pretty much like any other Sunday, maybe just a little bit quieter. The only traditional action is that kids are supposed to give their baptismal godmothers chocolate Easter eggs.

Monday and Tuesday are called Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday but they are just like any other normal work or school day.

Although this has been my third Semana Santa in Paraguay, it will not be my last! One more year, I think I can be classified as an expert at that point.