ABSTRACT
A large Internet store selling religious art objects, Siglo Barroco in Seville, advertises crystal tears for €10 each. It is one of the least costly items for sale. For instance, a silver-plated incense burner costs €350, a goldplated crown for Mary €3,500, and-the most viewed item-a life-sized Mater Dolorosa is €4,000.1 These objects are meant to be used in one of the processions during the Semana Santa (Holy Week), held in most of the larger towns in southern Spain. In a public celebration of the Passion of Christ in the week before Easter, life-sized statues of Jesus, Mary, and other saints are carried through the streets accompanied by bands playing music and people dressed up as penitents, Romans, mourners or biblical gures. In recent decades, both the number of processions and participants has expanded enormously, and hence also the quantity of ritual objects.
