Being the day of Jesus' death, Good Friday (Viernes Santo in Spanish) is a sombre day in Mexico City. As a display of deep mourning and loss, church facades and interiors are draped in dark colours.
Good Friday (Viernes Santo) is a bank holiday in Mexico prior to Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. Christians remember Jesus' crucifixion and death on this day.
As a largely Roman Catholic nation, Mexico celebrates Easter (also known as Domingo de Gloria — “Sunday of Glory”) with unparalleled passion and pageantry.
Easter in Mexico is a two-week holiday consisting of Semana Santa (The Holy Week, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending Easter Saturday) and Pascua (Starting with Easter Sunday and ending the following Saturday). Semana Santa is undoubtedly the most important holiday in Mexican culture.
Easter Sunday (Domingo de Pascua) is celebrated with mass at the local church. Churches will be filled to capacity with parishioners in a good mood celebrating the rise of Christ.
Holy Week is one of the most widely celebrated and important religious observances in Mexico. Almost all towns and cities in the country have some kind of public observance during a two-week period that starts from Palm Sunday at least to Easter Sunday and can extend into the week after.
Good Friday (Santo Viernes) commemorates the trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. Silent processions are held in city streets. Easter Saturday (Sabado de Gloria) commemorates the day in which Jesus rested in the grave. Some communities celebrate by burning paper maché effigies of Judas.
He may pop up in urbane city centers, but the Easter Bunny, in general, doesn't twitch a whisker in Mexico. You won't find many – if any – chocolate Easter Bunnies in Mexico during Easter. Instead, Mexico's citizens celebrate Easter in the very traditional sense: as the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
One of the unique traditions for Holy Week in Mexico is a reenactment of Christ's crucifixion, with actors forming a procession through town to represent the Via Dolorosa, or the stations of the cross. In some areas of Mexico, it's also tradition to burn an effigy of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
Lent, called Cuaresma in Spanish, is the fourty day period that precedes Easter (the word Cuaresma comes from the Latin quadragesima, fortieth).
In Mexico, El Buen Fin (The Good Weekend) is the weekend before the celebration of the Mexican Revolution, which is the third Monday of November, and has become an unofficial shopping extravaganza. El Buen Fin became popular in November of 2011, and this nationwide shopping event is Mexico's version of Black Friday.
In some regions of Mexico there are special celebrations on each Friday during Lent. For example, in Oaxaca, the fourth Friday of Lent is the Día de la Samaritana, the fifth Friday of Lent is celebrated in nearby Etla at the Señor de las Peñas Church.
While it is called Good Friday, it is a day of mourning for Christians. Therefore, people should not greet each other with 'Happy Good Friday' wishes just like they may do so on Christmas. It is only two days after Good Friday, that's Easter Sunday when you must wish 'Happy Easter Sunday'.
The more widely celebrated patriotic events are Independence Day (September 16) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5), which commemorates a victory over French invaders in 1862.
Day of our Lady of Guadalupe (Dia de Nuestro Senora de Guadalupe) Although it is not a national holiday, Dia de Nuestro Senora de Guadalupe is probably Mexico's most significant religious date. Celebrated on December 12, festivities begin a week earlier and occur throughout the country.
One of the two busiest weeks for vacationing in Mexico is Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which runs from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. The other week in the year when most people have at least several days off is the week between Christmas and New Year.
El Viernes Santo, or Good Friday, focuses on repenting for one's sins and is marked by penitents who march in penance processions. Members of Christian brotherhoods organize the daily processions, during which costaleros carry large floats with heavy statues.
Known as La Madruga, the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday is the most important and spectacular moment of Seville's Semana Santa. On the dawn of Good Friday, people gather in front of the Seville Cathedral to commemorate the trial and all the events that have led to the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
To commemorate this solemn occasion, Mexicans may travel to multiple churches throughout the evening, praying as the disciples of Jesus prayed. Most businesses and schools throughout Mexico will close on Viernes Santos (Good Friday).
In Mexico, Thanksgiving is referred to as Día de Acción de Gracias, and families gather for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, tamales, and mole.
Halloween (Día de las Brujas) is hailed mainly as a children's festivity in Mexico on October 31. It is often overshadowed by the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebrations on All Saints' Day and All Soul's Day.