In Pictures: Spain gears up for colourful Easter street processions
The holy week means thousands of colourful and noisy religious street processions, which draw multitudes on to the streets to watch.
![](https://www.guernseypress.com/resizer/v2/ALXKS7NEXBFQDBYLMZT2RMCHH4.jpg?auth=5e59fa78ca56cb0fd7a9f5157d101f17ab6bb217c81894899ec7e7406da5368d&width=300&height=225)
Spain is getting ready for one of its most revered holiday periods of the year – Easter.
The holy week means thousands of colourful and noisy religious street processions, which draw multitudes on to the streets to watch.
![Mari Carmen Perez brushes palms to be used during Palm Sunday processions at a shop in Elche, eastern Spain](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/21/66e4206f350a48458b76bebb0f0d88f5.jpg?w=640)
![Angela Pastor decorates a palm](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/21/639626b5945b4a80932dd766aafd86ea.jpg?w=640)
The ceremonies see brotherhoods of “nazarenos” with tall conical hats, monkish robes and hoods carrying or escorting the magnificent carriages through ancient streets of cities and towns nationwide.
While the processions take place over just a handful of days, preparations are a year-round affair and involve a wide range of small, sometimes family-run businesses.
![Members of the ‘Nuestro Padre Jesus del Gran Poder y la Esperanza Macarena’ brotherhood prepare a float used to carry a religious statue during Holy Week processions inside a church in Madrid](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/17/feb5efff3a394841b940b367e66ef807.jpg?w=640)
![Porters of ‘Nuestro Padre Jesus del Gran Poder y la Esperanza Macarena’ brotherhood practice in downtown Madrid](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/25/a30cd0f8a4b84febaa17347bfee6b544.jpg?w=640)
“It’s year-long preparation,” says Paqui Serrano, an artisan palm leaf bouquet-maker in Elche, south-east Spain, the heart of Spain’s palm tree agriculture.
![Porters of ‘Nuestro Padre Jesus del Gran Poder y la Esperanza Macarena’ brotherhood gather prior to practicing in downtown Madrid](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/25/5ea5a1ceefde44899c1f8792bbded396.jpg?w=640)
![A porter of ‘Nuestro Padre Jesus del Gran Poder y la Esperanza Macarena’ brotherhood adjusts his ‘costal’ prior to practicing](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/25/3c77f5f3ac2740e7812126c133d67d4f.jpg?w=640)
Mr Chicharro says he and his son, another float bearer, and family are constantly occupied with the processions and their preparations.
![Jose Arenas adjusts a hood used by penitents during Holy Week processions at the Capirotes Arenas shop in Cordoba, southern Spain](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/23/5edc049b49854a84a2fb03c4a41279ed.jpg?w=640)
Mr Chicharro’s float is carried by 35 bearers, with brothers on standby to relieve them along the procession route.
![Spain Easter Preparations Photo Gallery](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/23/e00667eb90424a61ad83a2b86871bfd5.jpg?w=640)
Easter this year begins with Palm Sunday on April 2.
![Candles burn at the Bellido candle factory in Andujar, southern Spain](http://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2023/03/23/40a4f7111dac42698c59b50c0b628d93.jpg?w=640)