Easter Traditions in Spain: Las Monas de Pascua
Semana Santa (Holy Week) for Christians is a special time in Spain. Although the reputedly religious South of Spain is more well-known for its Easter traditions, pastry shop windows in Barcelona will be filled with las monas de pascua for the occasion.
Las monas de pascua are hollow chocolate sculptures that symbolize the coming of spring. The most simple is a plain chocolate egg. Almost all of them are adorned with chick figurines and feathers. Godfather’s will give a mona to their godchild on Easter Sunday to enjoy after lent. The chocolate creations are then eaten the following day, día de la mona, which is a public holiday throughout the country. Good Friday is also a holiday and because of the long weekend, many locals go on vacation and are out of the city.
Trending Monas in 2017
There are always monas de pascua for the latest children’s movies and trends of the year. This year Pokémon is very popular and for obvious reasons, I was super happy to see Moana was a hit as well! Here are two variations of Moana monas (try and say that 10 times fast):
I just got a chance to see the live action Beauty and the Beast movie with Emma Watson yesterday. It was great! No wonder the Disney classic was another trending mona this year. Just take a look at this white chocolate castle.
The classics
There are a few monas that always get featured year after year. These include Barça players, the Smurfs (not sure why this one is so popular), superheroes, animals, and castles with medieval scenes.
For more about Easter traditions in Spain, take a look at my post here. Have a lovely holiday!
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Plain Chocolate Eggs? How are they made? like boiled eggs coated with chocolate?
All the monas are hollow. The simple ones are made of hollow chocolate in the shape of an egg with nothing inside.