A Different Kind of Easter

“Fill each day with life and heart. There is no pleasure in the world comparable to the delight and satisfaction that a good person takes in doing good.” – John Tillotson

In my family, we have Holy Week traditions involving taking the Last Supper, painting Easter Eggs, fasting, and breaking the fast with pancakes at church and hunting for jelly beans in the living room followed by a huge feast with family.

The traditions in Libertad are a little bit different…

We started on Palm Sunday with the blessing of the palms/olive branches by the priest (who arrived 2 hours late) and then a procession through town singing praise songs (which sounded a little bit like dirges, but the words were beautiful) and including a donkey and young girl dressed like Jesus.

A surprise I found on my blessed olive branch during the Palm Sunday Service

Then the food preparations began. People traveled to neighboring towns to find enough rice, fish, and beans to feed 5,000. Literally everyone made enough food to feed 5,000. All day on Thursday and Friday people give food to everyone who passes by their house, each plate piled high with rice and beans, fish, and clown salad (beets, potatoes, carrots, and eggs) and a huge glass of chicha (ground up rice with lots of sugar and cola). On Thursday I was served five plates and had two more delivered to my house. On Friday I tried to escape the mounds of food since I ended Thursday feeling fairly sick, but I still ended up being served three large plates and one more delivered to my house. I didn’t want to say no because they gave me the food with so much love! Plus, they were plates full of my favorite foods here!

They also make sweets.  Unlike the chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and Cadbury eggs that I am used to, the sweets here are made of fruits or seeds that are ground up, boiled, mixed with a ton of sugar, and served like a cream.  I have had sweets made out of everything from papaya, coconut, and mango to ñame (a root kind of like a potato) and wondu (I have no idea how to spell that, but it’s basically the pit of a fruit).  However, I found some chocolate covered almonds in the store in Sincelejo and splurged in order to have some chocolates semi-shaped like eggs on Easter.

Another one of the traditions is playing cards. Every night people put tables out in front of their houses and the people come and play. There are certain tables that draw huge crowds. There are several games that are played, but the only one I have learned is called Nines. I don’t like it at all. Everyone is dealt two cards and whoever has cards that add up to nine, or is the closest to nine without going over, wins. It is pure luck. Except when people cheat. And I guess cheating is part of the game: the dealer puts the cards in order so that they get nine, players hide cards in pockets or sleeves to get closer to nine, or people switch their hand with cards already laid on the table. So it’s luck or cheating, neither of which I am a big fan. And it’s a betting game. I’m not a fan of betting either.

But the kids like it when I play because I make a big stink about how I always get 10 (which is the worst you can get) and they think it is funny. I think it is funny too, except I keep losing 100 pesos (which is like 5¢) and when I decide not to lose any more money kids always say that they will spot me, but I don’t like losing kids’ money either so I end up just watching. It is definitely entertaining and people take it really seriously.

Of course, as in Christmas and New Year’s, dancing and drinking are a big part of the festivities as well. I’ve heard two different versions of the story (one saying the police have prohibited it and another saying the priest), but the picos are not allowed to be in Libertad on Thursday and Friday. Instead, the two rival picos from Libertad – Sovietico and Increible – go to two of the neighboring towns and people from Libertad head out to dance and drink. I had the chance to hit up both, one Thursday and one of Friday. I danced a bit, but I really enjoy watching people dance here. The way they know how to move their bodies is impressive and they are just so happy when they dance! I love it!

On Saturday, the picos return to Libertad to battle it out as they did at Christmas time. Everyone dresses in their finest and dances the night away. I also got to attend the birthday party of a woman turning 100 years old. Pretty awesome! The music there was also on full blast and the dancing was nonstop!

(Side note- during the picos, the djs make shout outs to friends who arrive or who they see dancing. During Semana Santa was the first time that I was added to the list of people included in the shout outs. Lani is moving up in the hip world! Ha!) 

Finally, on Sunday we had another beach day.  It was a very relaxing day and I always love being by the water.  The big activity at the sea this day was burying my feet in the sand.  Somehow that was super entertaining for everyone...

There definitely are still religious aspects to Holy Week. There is mass everyday and they walk the 14 stations of the cross around town on Friday. On Sunday I was surprised to find that the Easter Service was completely dedicated to baptisms and barely mentioned Jesus’s resurrection. I was a little disappointed in that since I love Easter Sunday and celebrating the awesomeness of what the resurrection means. Plus, my favorite song is In Christ Alone (which inevitably is sung on Easter) and I never get tired of laughing at Christ the Lord is Risen Today (with That’s Amore).

It was definitely a new experience for me this Easter, but I also brought a tradition from the US with me to share with the kiddos in Libertad: on Thursday I invited all the kids over to paint eggs. Everyone thought that was just the most bizarre thing when I invited them, but they all came. And they loved it! I had to get creative with the paint since there was no dye to be found anywhere; we ended up finger painting with regular paint. It was messy and awesome.  Just imagine it: 30 kids painting eggs in my house and me (really just a big kid) as the only adult.  YES!

Like Christmas and New Year’s, the Easter celebration was very different for me, but it definitely was very enjoyable!  Happy Easter to all!  He has risen!