SEMANA SANTA Easter Week is celebrated with solemnity in the maritime towns of Valencia and has three main events: The Procession of the Palm Leaves, the Procession of the Holy Burial and the Procession of the Resurrection are the high points of these festivities. The origin of these celebrations goes back to the 15th century, with the formation a religious group called the "Concordia dels Disciplinats" San Vicente Ferrer as a leading member. In the maritime quarters, Easter week is full of processions and events organised by the Cofradías (religious brotherhoods), and the Coorporaciones Armadas, subdivided into the Pretorianos, Longios, Sayones and Granaderos. The Cofradías processions are joined by all and sundry; some dressed as Pontius Pilate, Herod, the Apostles, Our Lady of the Forsaken and other Saints. All this is accompanied by the ringing of bells and the sounds of traditional music. At midnight on el sábado de Gloria (Glorious Saturday) when the church bells ring out in celebration of the resurrection, the residents of the neighbourhood throw pots of mud from their windows and balconies; a curious old tradition known as the "trenca de perols". The celebration of Easter Sunday and Monday are folkloric and populist in character.
