Easter in Chile

From a religious angle Easter in Chile is like all things religious in Chile. A few make it a religious event but most only take it as a minute to relax. Pretty much like a lot of places in the US. While most Chileans are “Catholic in spirit” they do not usually partake in any group activities such as going to mass. Especially if said activates involve getting up when it seasonally cold outside and no one is forcing you to leave your warm bed. If I make Chileans sound generally lazy that is not my intention in fact I should note that my dad’s girlfriend had to work today and got up at about 6 AM. As for whether or not Chileans are lazier that Americans we shall leave that ticking time bomb of a controversial issue for another day.

In Chile, when it rains or if it is cold kids don’t go to school. I guess the same rules can also apply to church. Of course the church part doesn’t bother me so much as I myself have only been to a US church service about 3 times I do however think that students here shouldn't miss class so much. This weekend my girlfriend and I are visiting her parents and at 11am on Easter morning their neighborhood was completely silent. For those of you who are wondering, they live in Peñaflor which is a suburb of Santiago about 30 minutes Southeast of Estación Central (Santiago’s Central Station).

(A picture of the neighborhood where my girlfriend's parents live)

The Sunday before Easter there were religious parades outside of my apartment in Valparaíso but like I said it is fair to say that despite the US image of Latin America as “ultra-catholic” that is the exception, and not the rule. Although I should note that there are a growing number of Evangelicals throughout Latin America.
In terms of the non-religious aspect; the street venders that fill any non-cuico (cuico is Chilean for upper-class) street in Chile took to selling eggs. Chants of the diminutive for the Spanish word for egg “huevitos, huevitos” were abundant in any place frequented by street vendors.

Of course by eggs I mean Chocolate eggs.

That’s right interestingly enough Chileans use Chocolate eggs as opposed to the hard boiled eggs or plastic shells in the shape of an egg that are more common in the US. This afternoon I had a moment of child-like glee that I haven’t felt in a while when my girlfriend’s mom yelled to us that she hid the eggs. They ended up being chocolate coins but if you haven’t looked for chocolate Easter coins with some one telling you if you’re “hot” or “cold” in Spanish than you haven’t lived. I suppose another second language would suffice but, come on, that’s not the point.