March and April in Washington spell for the adult the perfection of a climate which at its best no capital on earth can surpass. Color, fragrance, and an almost indefinable sense that the appropriate necessary mood is one of languid leisure are pervasive. The spring odors and flowers seem suddenly to flood the gardens and lawns. In the tiny six-by-two bed under a bay-window and in the stretches of living green by the river the daffodils have succeeded the crocus; hyacinths and flaring tulips fill the borders, and even the stems in the hedges are full of color. Over every tree there is a smoky veil where the swelling leaf-buds have blurred the winter tracery of bare twigs against the sky, but are not yet heavy enough to cast a shade.
Only the children seem energetic, especially on Easter Monday, the great day for Washington babies. Along Pennsylvania Avenue they stream‚ well dressed, nurse-attended darlings mingling with the raggedest little poor children that ever snatched an egg from a market-basket. The wide street looks as if baby-blossom time had come, for there are hundreds of children who on this special afternoon storm the grounds of the White House for their annual egg-rolling. Long ago the sport took place on the terraces below the Capitol, and a visitor to the city then wrote:
"At first the children sit sedately in long rows; each has brought a basket of gay-colored hard-boiled eggs, and those on the upper terrace send them rolling to the line on the next below, and these pass on the ribbon-like streams to other hundreds at the foot, who scramble for the hopping eggs and hurry panting to the top to start them down again. And as the sport warms those on top who have rolled all the eggs they brought finally roll themselves, shrieking with laughter. Now comes a swirl of curls and ribbons and furbelows, somebody's dainty maid indifferent to bumps and grass stains. A set of boys who started in a line of six with joined hands are trying to come down in somersaults without breaking the chain. On all sides the older folk stand by to watch the games of this infant Carnival which comes to an end only when the children are forced away by fatigue to the point of exhaustion, or by parental order."
When the games proved too hard a test for the grass on the Capitol terraces. Congress stopped the practice, and the President opened the slope back of the White House. No grown person is admitted unless accompanied by a child, but even under this restriction the annual crowd is great enough to threaten the survival of the event.
This film of babies tossing eggs for Easter was made
George Beverly Shea (February 1, 1909 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved Gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records, and television. Because of the attendance at Graham's Crusades, Shea has sung live before more people than anyone in history. Read more . . .
"George Beverly Shea, long-time friend and ministry partner to evangelist
Billy Graham, passed away April 16, 2013 at age 104. This video looks
back at his life and legacy. For more memories visit: http://www.georgebeverlysheamemorial.org"
The Savior folds a lamb in His bosom. The little child filled all the house with her music, and her toys are scattered all up and down the stairs just as she left them. What if the hand that plucked four o'clocks out of the meadow it still? It will wave in the eternal triumph. What if the voice that made music in the home is still? It will sing the eternal hosanna. Put a white rose in one hand, and a red rose in the other hand, and a wreath of orange blossoms on the brow; the white flower for the victory, the red flower for the Savior's sacrifice, the orange blossoms for her marriage day. Anything ghastly about that? Oh, no. The sun went down and the flower shut. The wheat threshed out of the straw. "Dear Lord, give me sleep," said a dying boy, the son of one of my elders, "dear Lord, give me sleep," And he closed his eyes and awoke in glory. Henry W. Longfellow writing a letter of condolence to those parents, said: "Those last words were beautifully poetic." And Mr. Longfellow knew what is poetic. "Dear Lord give me sleep."
"'Twas not in cruelty, not in wrath
That the reaper came that day;
'Twas an angel that visited the earth
And took the flower away."
So it may be with us when our work is all done. "Dear Lord give me sleep." Talmage
Easter, like Christmas, is a season of great rejoicing throughout the Christian world, writes George B. Catlin in the Detroit News. The two might be termed the alpha and the omega of Christian festivals, since one celebrates the nativity and the other the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from death and the grave.
As the early Christian records are fragmentary and imperfect it is impossible to determine when the celebration of Easter began. The early Christians of the church in the East were mostly converts from Judaism and these Christians continued the observance of the principal feasts and fasts of their ancestors, the ancient Israelites.
The death and resurrection of Christ occurred at about the time of the Passover, which Jesus and his disciples had gone to Jerusalem to observe. The Last Supper, held in an "upper room" of a private home in Jerusalem, by some authorities supposed to be in the home of the mother of St. Mark, was the Feast of the Passover.
The only allusion in the New Testament that would indicate a very early observance of Easter, as a feast celebrating the Resurrection, is in the first collection of the letters of St. Paul to the Christians of the church in Corinth; fifth chapter and seventh and eighth verses: "Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also has been sacrificed, even Christ: wherefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
In the subsequent records the first allusion to Easter is in connection with a dispute between two groups of Christians as to the date of the observance when, in the last decade of the second century of the Christian era, Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, and Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, wrote letters to Victor of Rome, differing with him on the subject of the proper date for the feast.
The crucifixion occurred on the sixth day of the week, or Friday. The following day was the Jewish Sabbath and the Resurrection occurred on the first day of the week. The early Christians of Jewish ancestry wished to signify their separation from their former faith, so, presently, they ceased to observe the Jewish Sabbath and made their holy day Sunday, the first day of the week.
The Jewish calendar is based on the phases of the moon, having months of 29 and 30 days alternately. The days of the month in the Jewish calendar, therefore, change from year to year during a period of 19 years or the metonic cycle, at the end of which period the phases of the moon reoccur on the same day. A partial readjustment of the dates is achieved by introducing an extra or interciary month in the third, sixth, eight, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years.
The years having this interciary month are known as "embolismic" years. The length of the Jewish year varies from 353 to 385 days and because of this irregularity the Jewish new year may occur anywhere between September 5 and October 5. All other dates, including the Passover, are movable because of this peculiarity of the calendar.
In 325 A. D. the date of the Easter feast, in dispute because of calendar and religious differences, was finally settled, but this did not obviate all difficulties. Because of the imperfections of the Julian calendar days of the month and year began to fall behind. By the year 1582 the calendar was 10 days behind and the vernal equinox, supposed to fall invariably on March 21, fell upon the 11th. This caused difficulty in fixing the correct date of the Easter celebration reformed calendar was invented and adopted.
This festival was always preceded by a fast of some duration. At first the fast began on Good Friday and continued for 40 hours. A little later it was extended to three days and later still it was extended to a week known as Holy week, during which there was general abstinence from flesh meats. The first mention of the fast, corresponding closely to our present Lenten period, occurs in the fifth canon of the council of Nicea in which it is styled "the quadrigesima" or 40 days.
Synoptical Julian-Gregorian Calendar – compare the Julian and Gregorian calendars for any date between 1582 and 2100 using this side-by-side reference.
Tenebrae (Latin for 'shadows' or 'darkness') is a Christian religious service celebrated by the Western Church on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which are the last three days of Holy Week. The distinctive ceremony of Tenebrae is the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms is chanted or recited. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church the Tenebrae readings and psalms are those of Matins and Lauds. The Polish National Catholic Church and some churches within the Anglican Communion also observe Tenebrae. The tenebrae service is also used in various Holy Week services among Protestant churches such as Lutheranism, as well as among some denominations of Orthodoxy.
"The Lamb" (John Tavener) Tenebrae Choir. Nigel Short, director. Supported by Swiss Global Artistic Foundation
In the Roman Catholic Church, Tenebrae is the name given to the celebration, with special ceremonies, of Matins and Lauds, the first two hours of the Divine Office, of the last three days of Holy Week.
Originally celebrated after midnight, by the late Middle Ages their
celebration was anticipated on the afternoon or evening of the preceding
day in most places.
Fifteen candles on tenebrae
"hearse". The candles are extin-
guished one by one during the
course of the service.
The structure of Tenebrae is the same for all three days. The first
part of the service is Matins, which in its pre-1970 form is composed of
three nocturns, each consisting of three psalms, a short versicle and response, a silent Pater Noster,
and three readings, each followed by a responsory. Pre-1970 Lauds
consists of five psalms, a short versicle and response, and the Benedictus Gospel canticle, followed by Christus factus est, a silent Pater Noster, a devotional recitation of Psalm 50 (51), Miserere, and the appointed collect.
The principal Tenebrae ceremony is the gradual extinguishing of candles upon a stand in the sanctuary called a hearse.
Eventually the Roman Rite settled on fifteen candles, one of which is
extinguished after each of the nine psalms of Matins and the five of
Lauds, gradually reducing the lighting throughout the service. The six
altar candles are put out during the Benedictus, and then any remaining
lights in the church. The last candle is hidden beneath the altar,
ending the service in total darkness. The strepitus (Latin for "great noise"), made by slamming a book shut, banging a hymnal or breviary
against the pew, or stomping on the floor, symbolizes the earthquake
that followed Christ's death, although it may have originated as a
simple signal to depart.
Following the great noise, the candle which had been hidden from view
is returned to the top of the hearse, signifying the return of Christ to
the world with the Resurrection, and all depart in silence.
Sir Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, Susan Gritton, Sara Mingardo, Mark Padmore, Alastair Miles and the Tenebrae choir
performing Handel's Messiah. Recorded in December 2006.
The lessons of the first nocturn at Matins are taken from the Book of Lamentations and are sung to a specific Gregorian reciting tone. They have also been set to music by many composers, of whom the most famous are Palestrina, Tallis, Lassus, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, François Couperin, Ernst Krenek (Lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae, op. 93) and Stravinsky (Threni). In addition, the responsories have been set by Lassus, Gesualdo, Victoria and Jan Dismas Zelenka.
The lessons of the second nocturn are taken from the writings of St. Augustine, and the lessons of the third nocturn from the epistles of Paul the Apostle. These are chanted to the ordinary lesson tone and have been relatively neglected by composers, though there are a few settings by Manuel Cardoso and sets of responsories by Orlando di Lasso and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
The High-Renaissance polyphonic choral settings of Lamentations at
Tenebrae, culminating in those of Lassus (1584), share the same texts
with, but in musical idiom are to be distinguished from, the French
Baroque chamber-music genre of Leçons de ténèbres.
The celebration of Matins and Lauds of these days in the form
referred to as Tenebrae in churches with a sufficient number of clergy
was universal in the Roman Rite until the reform of the Holy Week ceremonies by Pope Pius XII in 1955. At that time, the Easter Vigil
was restored as a night office, moving that Easter liturgy from Holy
Saturday morning to the following night; the principal liturgies of Holy Thursday and Good Friday
were likewise moved from morning to afternoon or evening, and thus
Matins and Lauds were no longer allowed to be anticipated on the
preceding evening, except for the Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday in
the case of cathedral churches in which the Mass of the Chrism was held
on Holy Thursday morning. The 1960 Code of Rubrics,
which is incorporated in the 1962 typical edition of the Roman
Breviary, did not allow any anticipation of Lauds, though Matins can
still be anticipated to the day before, later than the hour of Vespers. Even at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Jerusalem, where the need to observe a timetable that did not
disturb the established rights of other churches forced the timetable of
Roman Catholic Holy Week services to remain unchanged, the Office of
Tenebrae was abandoned in 1977.
But the special rubrics of Tenebrae that once accompanied the
celebration of Matins and Lauds, including the ceremony of extinguishing
the candles on the hearse, are now sometimes applied to other
celebrations, even if these do not consist of a nine-psalm Matins and a
five-psalm Lauds.
The 1970 revision of the Roman Breviary, now called the Liturgy of the Hours,
recommends public celebration of the Office of Readings (Matins) and
Morning Prayer (Lauds) - what was formerly called "Tenebrae" - for Good Friday and Holy Saturday,
Unlike its older form in the Divine Office, the newer form of the
Office of Readings and Morning Prayer on these days has no distinctive
structure, and there is no extinguishing of candles or lights. The
Office of Readings and Morning Prayer is shorter than in the older form,
although there is provision for extending the Office of Readings for
more solemn occasions.
Nevertheless, when the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer is
celebrated on these days, some elements of the older form of these
offices are often used.
Summorum Pontificum
(2007) permits clerics bound to the recitation of the Divine Office to
use the 1962 Roman Breviary, a permission availed of by several
religious and secular institutes and societies of apostolic life; but
the 1955 and 1960 changes exclude the anticipation of Matins and Lauds
to the previous evening, whether celebrated with or without the Tenebrae
ceremonies. However, some places hold something similar to the original
Tenebrae celebration as an extra-liturgical, devotional service. The
content, ceremony, and time of this celebration vary widely.
The front cover of a Lutheran church
bulletin for Good Friday, describing the
significance, as well as the summary
of components, of a typical tenebrae
service.
The name Tenebrae is also given to various other Holy Week services held by some Protestant churches including the Lutheran, United Methodist, United Church of Christ and Presbyterian churches. Variations of Tenebrae are sometimes celebrated in less formal or non-denominational churches as well. Protestant versions of Tenebrae service, particularly on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, often contain readings from the gospels which describe the time between the Last Supper and the Passion of Christ.
Another frequent element in Protestant Tenebrae services is the
inclusion of the last seven sayings of Jesus, assembled from the various
gospel accounts.
Some churches have the people who read scripture snuff out candles
and/or drape black cloth over church furnishings and ornamentation when
they finish their passage to represent the flight of the disciples and the approach of the dark hate of Jesus' enemies and the Passion of Christ. When the last passage has been read the church or room is completely dark and recalls the days when Jesus was in the tomb.
When this is the case, someone such as an acolyte often comes forward
and relights a single candle to represent the hope of the prophecy of Easter.
Another alternative is the service above interwoven in a Last Supper with lamb meat, bitter herbs, and other elements of the Jewish Passover commemoration.
Sometimes Protestant Tenebrae services involve the participants receiving Communion.
When this is the case, some churches have the participants come up
front and sit at a table in groups of twelve to receive communion.
Some Churches of the Anglican communion celebrate Tenebrae with the same rite as Roman Catholics. Anglicans, including the Episcopal Church,
usually observe the service on Wednesday in Holy Week, thereby
preserving the importance of the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
observances.
Holy Week in Mexico is important religious observance as well as important vacation period. It is preceded by several observances such as Lent and Carnival, as well as an observance of a day dedicated to the Virgin of the Sorrows, as well as a mass marking the abandonment of Jesus by the disciples. Holy Week proper begins on Palm Sunday,
with the palms used on this day often woven into intricate designs. In
many places processions, masses and other observances can happen all
week, but are most common on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, with just about every community marking the crucifixion of Jesus in some way on Good Friday. Holy Saturday is marked by the Burning of Judas,
especially in the center and south of the country, with Easter Sunday
usually marked by a mass as well as the ringing of church bells.
Mexico’s Holy Week traditions are mostly based on those from Spain,
brought over with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire,
but observances have developed variations in different parts of the
country due to the evangelization process in the colonial period and
indigenous influences. Several locations have notable observances
related to Holy Week including Iztapalapa in Mexico City, Taxco, San Miguel de Allende and San Luis Potosí.
Palm Sunday procession of Trique people
n Santo Domingo, Oaxaca
Holy Week is one of the most widely celebrated and important religious observances in Mexico.
Almost all towns and cities in the country have some kind of public
observance during a two-week period that starts from Palm Sunday at
least to Easter Sunday and can extend into the week after. Mexican television
features movies, documentaries and other shows focused on the religious
event and other topics related to the Catholic faith, especially in
Latin America. The U.S. traditions surrounding Easter have made very little inroads in Mexico, with icons such as the Easter Bunny and events such as Easter egg hunts limited to supermarkets and areas right along the border with the United States. Like most Mexican Catholic traditions, those related to Holy Week and Easter are based on the Spanish Catholic calendar. Holy Week is preceded by Lent and Ash Wednesday, which itself is preceded by Carnival .
However, a number of traditions and customs have developed over the
centuries. As most Holy Week related events occur outside and in large
gatherings, “antojitos” (roughly translated as Mexican street food or snacks)
is the most associated with the holiday. Prior to Easter Sunday, Lenten
dietary rules are still in effect for the observant, so popular street
foods include pambazos
with cheese, fried fish, fried plantains, hot cakes/pancakes with
various toppings. Candies are a popular street food at this time,
especially traditional and regional ones made from coconut, tamarind
and various fruits. Holy Week was also the traditional start of the ice
cream and flavored ice season, which was originally made in Mexico City
with ice and snow brought down from the Popocatepetl
volcano. Ice cream fairs are still held at this time. Today’s frozen
treats include ice cream in tubs, as well as popsicles made from both
fruit and cream, as well as snow cones called “raspados.” Another popular refreshment is called “aguas frescas” or sugared drinks made from fruit or other natural flavorings such as tamarind or hibiscus
flowers. The reason for the popularity of both frozen desserts and
flavored drinks is that spring to early summer is generally the warmest
part of the year in Mexico.
Just before Holy Week proper, there are two events celebrated in
various parts of the country. The first is the feast of the Virgin of
Sorrows (Virgen de los Dolores). This occurs the Friday before Good
Friday and focuses on the pain and sacrifice of Mary knowing that Jesus
had to die to save mankind. This image of the Virgin is usually dressed
in purple and altars are set up to her on this day.
On the Wednesday before Easter, a mass called the “vespers of darkness”
(los matines de la tinieblas) recalls the disciples’ abandonment of
Jesus. The altar of the church will have a candelabra with fifteen candles, with one candle extinguished after the singing of a Psalm until only the center candle, representing Jesus, remains lit.
Procession with crosses at the
La Cuevita church in Iztapalapa
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, and many communities have special
masses dedicated to the blessing of palm fronds. These fronds are often
woven into crosses and other designs, sometimes quite intricate and
brought by parishioners to have holy water sprinkled on them. Some
fronds are later burned and the ashes saved for marking foreheads on the
following Ash Wednesday. Maundy Thursday is the beginning of the
celebration of Easter proper. Cathedrals in the country have special
masses celebrated by bishops, with “chrism” a sacred oil used in the sacraments, is consecrated. Many churches also hold reenactments of the Last Supper, but Masses usually omit the exchanges of greeting of peace as a reminder of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. From this day through Holy Saturday, church bells are traditionally not rung.
Reenactments of the day of crucifixion take place in almost all
communities in Mexico on Good Friday and for a number these traditions
extends to a passion play enacted most or all of Holy Week. The focus of
these reenactments focus on the carrying of the cross by Jesus and his
crucifixion as told by the Stations of the Cross. In major productions, hundreds of people participate including the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the Judgment, the procession with the cross, the Crucifixion up to the Resurrection .
Holy Saturday is dedicated to vigil as the waiting time between
Jesus’ death and resurrection. Statues of the Virgin Mary are dressed in
black as a symbol of mourning.
Frequently there is a solemn evening mass during which participants
hold lighted candles. This is then followed by an event called the
Burning of Judas mostly practiced in central and southern Mexico Originally, it was the burning in effigy of the disciple that betrayed Jesus, a custom introduced to Mexico as part of the evangelization process. During the Mexican Inquisition,
effigies were also burnt to mock and protest the burning of people at
the stake. These effigies were banned but the idea of protest was
transferred to the Judas figures. The Burning of Judas continues in
other places but it has been banned in Mexico City because of safety and
pollution concerns. The figures are still made in the city but many are
now collector’s items.
Palm Sunday observance at a school
Easter Sunday is celebrated with mass which is usually crowded.
Church bells will again ring and the plazas around the churches after
Mass will be crowded with churchgoers as well as street vendors selling
food, toys, balloons and more.
In many areas, processions, masses and other activities extend for another week.
Mexico’s Holy Week traditions are based on Spanish ones brought over
during the Conquest, along with those created during the evangelization
process with some indigenous influence. This has resulted in variations
in the celebrations in various regions and towns. A number of these variations have become well known, such as those in Taxco, San Luis Potosí, San Miguel de Allende, Ajijic, and Iztapalapa in Mexico City. Other communities with notable celebrations include Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan, Querétero, Huajicori, Mesa de Nayar, Creel, Cusarare (Chihuahua), San Ignacio Arareco (Chihuahua), Jerez, Atlixco, Temascalcingo, San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán.
The most famous passion play in Mexico is held in Iztapalapa in the
east of Mexico City. This production involves over 4000 local residents
(all of which are born in Iztapalapa) which perform scenes related to
the last week of Jesus’s life from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. The
production has been done each year since 1843 and today the spectacle
attracts over 2 million spectators, mostly Mexican. The play is not a
strictly Biblical production as there are a number of characters such as
a spy, a dog, a “wandering Jew” and others that are unique to this
event. When Christ is captured, Aztec drums and flutes are played. Pontius Pilate sentences Jesus on the town of Iztapalapa’s main square then whipped. He then carries a cross from this square to the Cerro de la Estrella
on a route over mile long through eight of the borough’s oldest
neighborhoods. The most important event is the procession with the cross
and the crucifixion scene portrayed on Cerro de la Estrella. Many
others called “Nazarenes” follow, carrying their own crosses and wearing
real crowns of thorns like Jesus. The play ends with Judas hanging
himself after the crucifixion.
Participant dressed as a Roman soldier
for the Iztapalapa passion play
Another important and unique commemoration of Holy Week occurs in Taxco in the state of Guerrero.
It begins on Palm Sunday, with a large wooden statue of Christ
traveling on a donkey from the town of Tehuilotepec about four miles to
the center of Taxco. The image is preceded in its entrance to Taxco by
children on bicycles and residents portraying the Twelve Apostles
as well as drummer. Processions continue all week, led by very young
children dressed as angels, immediately followed by older girls dressed
in white with white veils, walking barefoot and swinging incense burners
containing copal. In these processions, Biblical figures related to the
Passion of Christ
are represented by wooden statues from the town and surrounding
villages, carried on litters, accompanied by musical instruments playing
melodies with pre Hispanic influence. The most notable aspect of these
processions are the penitents
who inflict pain and suffering on themselves during the processions.
While these displays have moderated or disappeared in other parts of
Mexico, they remain severe in Taxco. Penitents form into three
brotherhoods called the Animas or Bent Ones, the Encruzados (the
Crossed) and the Flagelantes (Flagellants). All wear black robes, a
horsehair belt and a hood to hide their identity. The Animas walk in
procession bent at the waist, never straightening, carrying relics,
crosses or candles. This is the only brotherhood that admits women, who
are distinguished by lighter chains attached to their ankles. The
Encruzados carry a bundle of thorned blackberry canes of up to 100
pounds tied onto their shirtless back and arms with a candle in each
hand. The Flagelantes are also bare backed and carry a large wooden
cross, in their arms, in their hands are a rosary and a whip with metal
points. At appointed places, the penitent hands off the cross, kneels
and whips his back. One Maundy Thursday, a scene recreating the Garden
of Gethsemane
is set up at the Santa Prisca church and on Friday, the statue of Jesus
praying is “captured” and “jailed.” On Friday it is “crucified” inside
the church with the penitent brotherhoods looking on. A candlelight
vigil is on Holy Saturday ending late in the night with the announcement
that Christ has risen. Easter Sunday is quiet.
Amuzgo Good Friday procession in Xochistlahuaca.
San Miguel de Allende is noted for its observances of Holy Week, and for two weeks there is at least one procession per day. The focus for much of the pageantry is the “El Señor de la Columna” Christ image, which is brought from the sanctuary of Atotonilco
and paraded among the various churches of the area from the Sunday
before Palm Sunday to the Wednesday after Easter when it returns to
Atotonilco. On Good Friday, this image is carried to the parish church
of San Miguel, accompanied by residents dressed as the disciples and
Roman soldiers. At noon, images of the Holy Family, the disciples, Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist
are also in procession and a passion play is performed. At dark, the
images reappear in procession but dressed in black and accompanied by
measured drumbeats.
During this time , concheros dancers sporadically appear, especially in
the main square of San Miguel. The Burning of Judas occurs on Easter
Sunday, not Holy Saturday.
A number of cities and towns hold Processions of Silence, where
people march on the street holding candles in silence. The custom comes
from the Spanish city of Seville .
The most important of these processions is held in the city of San Luis
Potosí on Good Friday. It begins at 8pm at the Plaza del Carmen, with
actors dressed as Roman troops playing drums and bugle. This guard then
knocks on the door of the Carmen Church. The beginning of the procession
leaves the church, carrying crosses and paschal candles. They are
joined by more as they move onto the streets, dressed in white robes
with cone shaped hoods with symbols denoting what religious group they
belong to. In addition to the robed participants, there are also those
dressed as charros, and Adelitas (women of the Mexican Revolution)
as well as some in indigenous dress. The focal point of the procession
is a large figure of the Virgin of Solitude, the Virgin Mary left alone
after the death of Jesus. It and its platform weigh more than a ton and
are carried on the shoulders of forty men. The procession continues
around the town, punctuated by ritual speeches until midnight, when the
last of the robed figures returns to the Carmen Church.
Statue of a Flagelante penitent in Taxco
In Tzintzuntzan
for most of Holy Week, there are men on horseback, in red hoods and
lavender robes that patrol the area to make sure that stores or
craftsmen are doing business as usual. A central activity are
processions with penitents led by seven large crosses which have been in
the care of seven family for generations. These crosses are then at the
front of the parish church on Good Friday as a passion play is
performed. Local legend says that as recently as the 1970s, in a nearby
village, penitents still had themselves nailed to crosses.
A major pilgrimage site for Holy Week is Chalma, the second most visited pilgrimage site in Mexico after the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The focus of the pilgrimage is a image of a black crucified Christ and
the rites here are a mix of Christian and pre Hispanic influences, such
as bathers dipping into a fresh water spring for purification. Dance is a
central part of the rites, and an Aztec tradition states that newcomers
are obliged to dance for at least one tune.
Other important events for Holy Week include a procession behind a
black faced Christ figure in Patzcuaro, the veneration of a purple-robed
paper mache image of Christ at the San Francisco Church in the historic center of Mexico City and that of the Tarahumara in Chihuahua, who paint themselves white for ritual.
The Easter parades in America are cultural events consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday. Typically, these are somewhat informal and unorganized events, with or without religious significance. Persons participating in an Easter parade traditionally dress in new and fashionable clothing, particularly ladies' hats, and strive to impress others with their finery. The Easter parade is most closely associated with Fifth Avenue in New York City,
but Easter parades are held in many other cities. Starting as a
spontaneous event in the 1870s, the New York parade became increasingly
popular into the mid-20th century—in 1947, it was estimated to draw over
a million people. Its popularity has declined significantly, drawing only 30,000 in 2008.
Easter processions or parades, often including special dress, have been part of Christian culture since its earliest beginnings. The special dress was originally worn to show respect for the event by the participants. However, in our contemporary American culture, Easter parades in large cities such as New York are now primarily attended by people who wish to show off manifestations of those customs and traditions that have little to do with the church or congregants observing the suffering of Jesus. The New York Easter Parade has evolved into an parade similar to those celebrated at Marti Gras, that is a time designated for excessive party going and public display. During Marti Gras, this display is in keeping with the context of the original holiday's design unlike those celebrations that misrepresent the occasion of the crucifixion of Jesus.
The second took place as Jesus carried a cross to Calvary. These processions are often commemorated in Christian church services, and are seen as the earliest predecessors of Easter parades during the early 20th century. A procession of cross-bearers by Sprugeon (PDF) ********
"XXVI Jornada Mundial de la Juventud católica. Procesión Cristo Buena
Muerte y Ánimas de Málaga por calle Arenal de Madrid. El excelente y
admirable desfile de la Legión española, con dos escuadras de
gastadores, Banda de Guerra y una compañía, fue de los actos más
destacados, aportando notable españolidad, elegancia y seriedad."
Facts about parades associated with Easter throughout Christendom:
During the Dark Ages, Christians in Eastern Europe
would gather in a designated spot before Easter church services, then
walk solemnly to the church. Sometimes the congregation would form
another parade after the services, retracing their steps and singing
songs of praise. These processions had two purposes—to demonstrate to
churchgoers the unity of spirit found in their faith, and to reach out
to nonbelievers in a highly visible manner. Even in those times,
participants wore their finest attire to show respect for the occasion.
In the Middle Ages, the clergy
expanded these processions into teaching tools. Paintings and statues
would be placed along city streets, where church members could walk from
one to another to see all the "stations of the cross." To a public that had no access to the Bible and often could not understand the Latin language in which church services were conducted, these special processions were a means to understanding their faith.
Other parades have been held on important days during and close to Lent. An example can be found in today's parades on Mardi Gras. Beginning about 1782, German settlers in Pennsylvania held non-religious parades on Easter Monday, then widely celebrated as a holiday. The parades continued for over a century.
In the Philippines,
communities re-enact Jesus' triumphal entry with a procession. A statue
of Christ on the donkey or the officiating priest mounted on horse
process around or towards the local church, surrounded by palm-bearing
churchgoers. In some towns, elderly women spread heirloom "aprons" (made
for this sole purpose) or large cloths along the procession route in
imitation of the Jerusalemites. Children dressed as angels sometimes
sing the Osana ("Hosanna") whilst strewing flowers about. Once blessed, the ornately woven palaspas (palm branches), are
taken home by the faithful and are placed on altars or hung beside, on
or above doorways and windows.
The Via Dolorosa (Latin,"Way of Grief", "Way of Suffering" or simply "Painful Way") is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the Antonia Fortress west to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — a distance of about 600 metres (2,000 feet) — is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by nine Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Each Friday,
a Roman Catholic procession walks the Via Dolorosa route, starting out
at the monastic complex by the first station; the procession is
organized by the Franciscans of this monastery, who also lead the
procession. Acted re-enactments also regularly take place on the route,
ranging from amateur productions with, for example, soldiers wearing
plastic helmets and vivid red polyester wraps, to more professional
drama with historically accurate clothing and props.
The Holy Fire (Greek Ἃγιον Φῶς, "Holy Light") is described by Orthodox Christians as a miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, or Holy Saturday, the day preceding Orthodox Easter.
It is considered by many to be the longest-attested annual miracle in
the Christian world. It has been consecutively documented since 1106
A.D., with previous references being sporadic. This is not an "organized" parade but it still is considered a spontaneous, traditional event that becomes a type of parade as the flames are passed from person to person down the city streets. The event commemorates the Pentecost.
Authorities attribute the introduction of elaborate Easter
ceremonies, including gaudy dress and display of personal finery, to the
Roman Emperor Constantine I in the early part of the 4th century, when he "ordered his subjects to dress in their finest and parade in honor of Christ's resurrection." Having new clothes for Easter had deep roots in European customs. Sacred
times called for special forms of dress—material markers of holiness
and celebration. Distinctive garb for Easter, like one's "Sunday best"
and the special vestments of priests, for centuries showed the solemnity and sacredness of the season.
Easter Parade photographs are from the New York Daily Tribune, 1908
The Trata, Or Ancient "Choros" Dance, at Megara, Greece, on Easter Tuesday. Participated in by all the young girls of a marriageable age. It is considered as an announcement that they are in the market for husbands. A sort of debut into society.
Blessing The Public Water Supply At Athens, Greece. This ceremony conducted annually by gorgeously robed priests, taken place about Easter time and calls out all, from royalty to the poorest beggar.
Easter in Seville, Spain. Sumptuously image of the Virgin, set in a forest of candles, is borne through the crowded streets.
Easter Parade in Fifth Avenue. One of the traditional Easter sights in America.
.jpg)
