To most people, religion and tourism would never mingle. Not so in Spain where religion is a major part of tourism that attracts many visitors every year. There are a lot of factors that have led to religion playing such a major role in the tourism industry in Spain.

There are three major religions in Spain namely Judaism, Islam and Catholicism. There are places that can be termed as being the Catholics holiest places in Spain. These include Santiago de Compostela which is in Galicia. This place has been rated as the 3rd holiest place in the world after Vatican City and Jerusalem. It is also home to the Way of Saint James. Also located in north Spain is Cantabria and Santo Toribio de Liébana. The region of Murcia is the 5th holiest city and is located in the South eastern side. All these places are a major tourist attraction.

The places receive thousands of tourists and pilgrims each year. They come from all corners of the world. There are also a lot of artistic expressions here. Most of the tourists and pilgrims come here for the processions of the Holy Week. These processions are very popular and are important to many of the towns in Spain.

The holy weeks involves a lot of traditions also called Semana Santa. The holy week is Lent’s last week, important to many Christians especially Catholics. Lent is the week just before Easter and there are a lot of glamorous celebrations in many regions.

The area recognized for these kind of celebrations is Andalusia, most especially Málaga and Seville. This area receives a lot of visitors during this season. Castile regions are a bit somber and hold solemn events. There is a religious ceremony called Semana Santa which typifies the events.

During the processions, many pilgrims wear penitential or nazareno robes which are a common feature. The garment has a hood that has a conical hood that conceals faces. These robes are historic as they were used for penitents in the medieval period so as to demonstrate penance. Other people in the procession wear whatever they like with some using uniforms related to Roman Legion. Cartagena has more unique procession following strict order.

Brotherhoods are divided into groups called agrupaciones and are in charge of the floats. Members in a group wear same colours. At the front of each float, there is a standard that is richly embroidered. This standard is carried by three people in the group followed by the others in two lines.

The processions are very elaborate and a lot of people come to Spain just to witness this as many towns celebrate it differently.

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