Easter Week and Lent Difference

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There is a lot of confusion due to the difference between Lent (Cuaresma) and Holy Week (Semana Santa), some think that it is the same because they are both important religious celebrations in Antigua Guatemala.

Lent lasts 40 days and during this time prepares to receive Easter which ends on Holy Thursday and is a time of forgiveness, reflection and reconciliation, according to the Catholic Church. Well, so let's define what each celebration is and what it means.

The Catholic tradition tells us that Lent (Cuaresma) is the liturgical conversion time that the Church marks to prepare us for the great Easter party. According to the Church, this time is for the faithful to repent of their mistakes and change to be better and be able to live closer to Christ and his teachings, this time begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before the Mass of Dinner of the Lord of Holy Thursday during Holy Week.

Now, Holy Week (Semana Santa) begins on Palm Sunday each year and ends on the day of the annual Christian commemoration of the Passion of Christ, that is, the entrance to Jerusalem, the last supper, the Via Crucis, the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Holy Week is the last week of Lent from Palm Sunday to sunset on Holy Thursday, between sunset on Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday, called the Pascual Triduum. Therefore, it is a period of intense liturgical activity within the various Christian denominations. It begins with Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday, although its celebration usually begins in various places on the previous Friday, which is Friday of Sorrows. It continues to be Lent until sunset on Holy Thursday, in Holy Week the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper, the crucifixion of Jesus is commemorated on Good Friday, La Soledad de María on Holy Saturday and the Resurrection at the Pascual Vigil during the night from Holy  Saturday to Resurrection Sunday.

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