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The complex rituals of Holy Week are as much an expression of the more significant forms of popular religion as of ecclesiastical liturgy. The ceremonies begin after the forty days of Lent, on Palm Sunday. In Christian symbolism, Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem with offerings of palm and olive branches is a message of faith and peace.
The natural offering is a vestige of the complex mythic ritual typical of pre-Christian spring rites. In fact, the main significance of Easter, commemorating the death and resurrection of Christ, is similar to propitiatory agricultural spring rituals. On Holy Thursday, a repository is prepared in the churches in anticipation of the death and crucifixion of Christ. In some villages, vases containing white seeds, germinated in darkness are still placed around the altar. As a sign of mourning, the church clocks are fixed so that they will not sound. Like religious drama, the ritual forms of Holy Week allow people to participate in the liturgy and express their religious feelings regarding the passion of Christ. In many places in Italy, there are processions on Good Friday commemorating the death of Christ. Hooded monks accompany the representation of the dead Christ, followed by the statue of the grieving Virgin. Some of the reenactments include living tableaus of various events of the Passion, a modern version of popular religious drama. The symbolic mourning of the death of Christ becomes an important occasion for various communities to create their own reenactments and demonstrate both their religious sensibility and their cultural identity. On Easter Sunday, the processions commemorating Christ’s resurrection are an expression of the rebirth of the earth and of life itself. The egg, a natural fertility symbol with primitive origins, is a significant expression of popular emotions. The bells can ring again, released from their chains; the earth, having passed through the winter, can produce food once more. The ritual cycle of Holy Week ends with Easter Monday.
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