Easter is one of the most important and venerated festivities in Mallorca, forming part of the most important religious and popular traditions of the island.
They are days of meditation, processions, frit, panades and robiols.
So much so that Capdepera and Cala Ratjada celebrate them independently and in their own way.
Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) is the first day of the liturgical acts of Holy Week. The church squares of Cala Ratjada and Sitjar in Capdepera host the blessing of the numerous olive branches or paumas that the multitude of people present gather to then process together to their respective churches, where the traditional service is held on the occasion of this festivity.
Throughout Holy Week, the faithful traditionally place these branches or paumas on the doors, windows and balconies of their homes, thus commemorating the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, acclaimed by all the people.
On Maundy Thursday evening (at 7 pm in Cala Ratjada and at 8.30 pm in Capdepera), the first of the events scheduled for these days takes place: the Chrism Mass, in which the parish priest washes the feet of twelve parishioners, emulating Jesus with the Apostles before the celebration of the Last Supper.
At its conclusion (from 9 p.m. onwards), the Holy Thursday procession takes place, in which the Brotherhoods of Esperanza and Verónica parade through the streets of the old quarter of Capdepera, Vila Rotja.
The following day, on Good Friday, in the afternoon, after the service (7 pm), it is tradition in Cala Ratjada to celebrate Es Davallament, representing the emotional moment when Jesus was taken down from the cross after his death.
Meanwhile, in Capdepera a mass is held (8:30 pm), at the end of which the brotherhoods once again go out in procession. In this case, they will do so through the streets of the Vila Nova neighbourhood.
The emotion and prominence of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are continued on Saturday, the day of the Easter Vigil, when the baptismal waters are renewed, awaiting the celebration of the Resurrection.
Easter Sunday, the day par excellence of Holy Week, represents moments of joy and celebration for all the faithful.
At midday, Capdepera experiences the splendour of the El Encuentro procession. The images of the risen Jesus and the Virgin face each other in a crowded Sitjar square, where doves are released to the sound of the melodies played by the Band of Music.
Both images process through the most central streets of the town to head towards the parish church of Sant Bartomeu, where the Easter Mass will be celebrated.
In Cala Ratjada, the procession passes along the main street (Elionor Servera) and several streets of the coastal town on its way to the church. This year, El Encuentro is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m., before the Easter service.
It is a day to enjoy religiosity and traditions, among them the gastronomic ones, typical of these festivities: frit de Pàsqua, honeycombs and robiols.
One of the traditions of the municipality of Capdepera is celebrated on Easter Monday, a day when, for decades, young people have been going to the dunes of Cala Agulla in search of eggs painted in different colours (with sweets inside) that the adults have hidden under the sand.
In the past, this day was also used for the blessing of the sick. The parish priest, accompanied by the authorities and the music band, would go round the houses of the village to give the blessing and communion.
In the afternoon, the parish priest would go around the village to bless the houses and possessions in the rural area.
But the Easter celebrations don’t end here. On the Sunday after Easter, the Day of the Angel (this year it is the 16th of April), people go to the beaches of Cala Agulla or Cala Mesquida, among others, to eat the last panades and robiols left over from Easter, and also to take the first swim of the year in the sea, thus inaugurating the summer season.
People from other nearby municipalities, mainly from Artà, also used to enjoy this celebration by travelling by lorry from their villages.
All these celebrations have made Easter Week, over the generations, a deeply-rooted tradition in the society of Gabell and the whole of Mallorca, making it an unavoidable festivity in the annual religious and pagan calendar.