Editor’s note: Following is the next in a series on the Inter-Faith Bridging Project, launched last fall by Vernon and District Immigrant Services Society, with funding by Embrace BC.
The sombre anticipation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Semana Santa leads to the joyous celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
“In Guatemala, Easter is all over the streets. It is not something you can ignore, even if you are not religious. Easter is the time I get the most homesick,” said Maytée Ferrigno, who came to Canada with her new husband, Juan, 25 years ago.
“The houses and shops are decorated with purple bows on the doors and yellow bows on the windows. The altar in front of the houses are full of lilies and other fragrant flowers with floral arches in some streets.”
There are Holy Week processions each day from one church to another with statues telling the Easter story carried by participants. Some of the processions depict the stations of the cross, the path Jesus walked to his death.
“One statue I loved as a child was the one of Veronica, who wiped Jesus’ brow, and his image stayed on the towel. Everyone walks on the street along with the procession. There is always music, a brass band playing solemn music. The streets are a carpet of beautiful, colourful patterns in flower petals, seeds and coloured sawdust. People wake up early to do this out of love. Your senses are all there with colour, music and fragrance. It is an amazing thing seeing the faith of the people doing these things and it is such a joyous time for everyone.”
The procession stops at the altars along the street and everyone says a prayer together. The processions are led by priests and sometimes by men in costume playing the part of Roman guards.
Viernes Santo (Good Friday) is an important day.
“When I was a child, my father would wake me up very early in the morning and we would sneak out and watch the people making the flower carpets. Then he would take me out for breakfast at a street vendor. That was our special time,” said Ferrigno
“In Guatemala, Easter is a time to be with family. We used to go to my grandparents’ home in a town by Lake Atitlan. Most people there are descendants of the Mayans. We always had a special meal, cold with olives, pepper, garlic and tomatoes. I think it came from the Spaniards. I like to make it for my family now. At 3 p.m., we would go to church and say prayers. The procession that day was Jesus carrying the cross in the morning and then a procession of burial, with Jesus as a statue in a glass dome and the Virgin Mary dressed in black with funeral music.”
Saturday night was a time for a family party to look forward to the resurrection. There was a tradition of spanking the children gently in fun to make sure that they grow well in the coming year.
On Sunday morning, everyone, the girls and women in their best dresses, goes to church for a joyous service, followed by a big family meal, often a barbecue.
“We have spent the 40 days of Lent preparing for this day, thinking of what we have been doing wrong and how we might be better. It is a time of the joy of rebirth, of gratitude for Christ who sacrificed for us and love and compassion for everyone. We want to share our hope. We can make the world a better place in small ways around us by being gentler, kinder and more giving. We must look at what is positive and good in the world.”
Ferrigno is an employment counsellor with the Vernon and District Immigrant Services Society, teaches Spanish at Okanagan College and is a member of the Inter-Faith Bridging project steering committee funded by Embrace BC.
“Being part of the committee has been a wonderful experience for me to learn about the different faiths. There are so many good things that we have in common. It has made my life very rich. I have a new group of friends who might have different beliefs from me but we all really want the same things for our families, friends, communities and the world. This has been a very blessed project.”
The funding for the Inter-Faith Bridging Project is now over but the steering committee is looking at ways to get more people involved and to continue in the community in some way.
