Holy week in Seville, Spain begins. This incredible seven days of medieval splendor and devotion is not well-known, even in the Catholic world. See the incredible, 1800 lb floats carried by members of various confraternities. All of the statuary is life size, and go back as least as far as the Baroque era, if not older. These are some photos of the events. Some processions through the streets take 15 hours, and all Christian businesses are closed. The week-long celebrations and solemnities began as acts of contrition, acknowledging that the Roman soldier who scourged Christ was a Spaniard. This, the power of the Faith in the Middle Ages. Each of the medieval confraternities (brotherhoods) usually have two floats; one shows events in Our Lord's life. The second, an image of the Blessed Mother, often depicted as weeping. These weeping Madonnas are known as "macarenas".