Hi everybody. Since it is Holy Week, and also because Mexico is 90% Catholic, I have enjoyed interacting in the cultural traditions this week. Last night, on Holy Thursday, I went to 11 different churches in the town of Cholula with RosaEna (my host mom), and her friend. It was really interesting. First of all, there were a ton of people there, but not for the reason of attending mass. In fact, we didn't get there until 8:30 at night.
In the U.S., a lot of people attend mass on this day and participate in the washing of the feet, as well as the celebration of the Last Supper. In Mexico, there are a few churches that have mass, but not each one. One reason is because a lot of these churches have been around since the 1700 - 1800s, and therefore, are extremely small. Although not as many people attend mass on this holiday, there is another tradition that takes place. (This may occur in the United States as well, but I have never noticed it). On this night, people attend various Catholic churches, of which are decorated with the symbol of bread and wine on the altar, as well as different statues and images of Jesus and Mary.
People go into these churches and show their respect through praying and approaching the statues. It was very interesting to watch everyone. One thing that stuck out to me was the fact that a lot of the statues involved Jesus' crucifixion. Some represented Jesus' death, while there were others that signified him being blind-folded while in prison. It caught my curiosity because I have always thought of Holy Thursday as the day before Jesus' death. However, the images presented made it seem as if he had already suffered. It was really fascinating to visit these different churches. All of the pews were moved aside, and each church had a purple sheet behind the altar, covering the display of the resurrected Jesus.
As we walked from church to church, there were tables outside of each one where people were giving away soup, cookies, hot chocolate, and juice. I thought that was enlightening because these people were volunteering their time and giving away homemade food. It was inspirational because there are usually always people outside of churches who are trying to sell their food and gadgets. Witnessing these people volunteer their time and essentials was uplifting and made me glad that I was there.
RosaEna and I arrived back at the house around 12:30 that night, and I went straight to bed. I got up around 8:00 this morning (Friday), and got ready for my next adventure. I heard the doorbell ring at 10:00 and went to meet my friends Janet and Mau. Janet is a student I met last week when I was observing an English class. She and her uncle Mau are the ones I met up with on Tuesday night when they took me to Cholula. Today they took me to their hometown of Tepatlaxco, where I was able to meet their family and observe how people celebrate Good Friday.
When we arrived, we began walking around the town and saw a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. We were only there a few minutes, but long enough to see people dressed as soldiers, and somebody portraying Jesus, who was carrying the cross and being whipped. It was really interesting to see, but sad at the same time.
We then walked to another area which reminded me of a Saturday market. It was full of people selling food, and there were a ton of people there who were walking around. We then saw a crowd walking towards us carrying statues of Jesus, Mary, and some other saints. They entered a large church, which is when the Good Friday service began. However, there were too many people to get inside, so we did not go.
We kept walking around the area, and eventually made it back to the house of Janet's grandparents where we had lunch. I was able to meet and eat lunch with some amazing people. It was me, Janet, her sister Jazmin, her brother Abel, her uncles Mau, Francisco (Paco), and Alfredo, her parents Bertha and Bernabe, and her grandparents Valentina and Francisco. Although my Spanish was kind of jumbled at first, they were extremely patient with me, which led us into having some great conversations.
Later this afternoon, we went over to their family business, in which they sell outfits for special occasions. However, these outfits are very cultural and are handmade. For example, they had me try on a white top with a long, skirt that had the beaded image of Mary on it. I have put some pictures on Facebook if you want to see. Janet and Jazmin got dressed up too, so we all started taking pictures.
Before I left, the family thanked me for coming and said I was welcome over anytime. "Nuestra casa es tu casa" they said to me, meaning "Our house is your house." I knew there was a reason I loved this culture so much. I am hoping to meet up with them again very soon.
That's it for today. As always, thank you for reading, and I will write again in a few days. :-)
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