Holy Week 2025 arrives in Barcelona, bringing with it many traditions that children take part in and enjoy. During these days, godparents gift their godchildren palms and palmones or Easter monas. It is also a tradition (and a fun activity) to paint Easter eggs with children. Do you celebrate Holy Week? Here we’ll tell you about our traditions.
HOLY WEEK TRADITIONS IN BARCELONA
On Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, the traditional blessing of palms and palmones takes place.
THE TRADITION OF PALMS AND PALMONES
According to tradition, a godmother gifts her goddaughter a beautifully crafted palm, while a godson receives a palmón (the taller, the better!). Over time, traditions have evolved, and in Catalonia, it is now common to decorate them with candies and small toys.
Palms and palmones are blessed during a mass, during which they are struck against the ground. In the past, people would hang the blessed palms on their balconies until the following Carnival.
PALM FAIR IN BARCELONA The Palm Fair returns to Rambla de Catalunya. A few days before Palm Sunday, the Fira de Rams is set up along Rambla de Catalunya between Aragón and Diputación streets, as well as in Sagrada Familia Square. Visitors can find palms and palmones of various sizes, laurel branches, and all kinds of decorations.
Fira de Rams at Rambla de Catalunya: April 9-12, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM.Fira de Rams at Sagrada Familia Square: April 9-13, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM.. More information: Fira de Rams Barcelona 2025.
EASTER MONAS
The Mona de Pascua is another key Holy Week tradition. It symbolized the end of Lent and, therefore, the end of abstinence. It is gifted on Easter Sunday and traditionally eaten in Catalonia on Easter Monday. The mona is given by the godfather to his godchild.
In Catalonia, it has become increasingly common for monas to be chocolate figurines. Bakeries create amazing chocolate sculptures, and traditional monas, such as the typical Easter ring cake, are becoming rarer.
WHERE TO BUY MONAS AND PALMONES?
If you are a godparent, here are some great places where you can buy monas and palmones.
And you? Do you celebrate these traditions? Tell us how you experience Holy Week at home!
HOLY WEEK PROCESSIONS AND MASSES
Here are the schedules for the Holy Week processions and masses at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona:
Holy Week Processions and Stations of the Cross
Palm Sunday (April 13)
- Procession of “La Burreta”: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Starts and ends at Sant Agustí Parish (Raval).
- Jesus of Great Power and La Macarena: 9:45 AM. Procession through the city center from Sant Agustí Square.
- Procession of the “Bona Mort”: 5:30 PM. Starts and ends at Santa Anna Parish.
Holy Thursday (April 17)
- Stations of the Cross “de la Sang”: 9:00 PM – 10:30 PM. From Santa Maria del Pi Parish.
Good Friday (April 18)
- Our Lady of Sorrows: 6:45 PM. From Sant Jaume Parish to the Cathedral (Stations of the Cross at 8:00 PM).
- Jesus of Great Power and La Macarena: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM. From Sant Agustí Parish.
- Christ of the “Bona Mort” and Our Lady of Anguish: 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM. Procession from Santa Anna to Sant Jaume.
- Stations of the Cross at Sagrada Familia: 9:00 PM. Free entry.
Easter Sunday (April 20) –Easter Procession: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM. From Santa Anna Parish.
Procesiones y Vía Crucis – Semana Santa
Domingo de Ramos (13 abril)
– Procesión de la Burreta: 10:00-13:00 h. Inicia y finaliza en la Parroquia de Sant Agustí (Raval).
– Jesús del Gran Poder y la Macarena: 9:45 h. Recorrido por el centro desde la Plaza de Sant Agustí.
– Procesión de la Bona Mort: 17:30 h. Inicio y final en la Parroquia de Santa Anna.
Jueves Santo (17 abril)
– Vía Crucis de la Sang: 21:00-22:30 h. Desde la Parroquia de Santa Maria del Pi.
Viernes Santo (18 abril)
– Nuestra Señora de los Dolores: 18:45 h. De la Parroquia de Sant Jaume a la Catedral (Vía Crucis 20:00 h).
– Jesús del Gran Poder y la Macarena: 17:00-23:00 h. Desde la Parroquia de Sant Agustí.
– Cristo de la Bona Mort y Nuestra Señora de las Angustias: 18:30-22:00 h. Recorrido desde Santa Anna hasta Sant Jaume.
– Vía Crucis en la Sagrada Familia: 21:00 h. Entrada libre.
Domingo de Resurrección (20 abril)
– Procesión de Pascua: 17:30-20:00 h. Desde la Parroquia de Santa Anna.
