And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. Luke 22:43
The Agony in the Garden, Antonio da Correggio, c. 1524
Under the dark shadows of the trees, amid the interrupted moonlight, it seems to the disciples that there is an angel with Him, who supports his failing strength, who enables Him to rise victorious from those first prayers with nothing but the crimson traces of that bitter struggle upon His brow. Correggio's "Agony in the Garden" is one of his most admired pictures. It is a triumph of chiaroscuro. The figure of the Christ us lighted from heaven, and the angel is illuminated by light reflected from Him. The angel points upwards with one hand, and with the other points to the cross and the crown of thorns which are lying on the ground.--Farrar.
An angel ministered to our Lord when in Gethsemane He wrestled with His great and bitter sorrow. What a benediction to the mighty Sufferer was in the soft gliding to His side of that gentle presence, in the touch of that soothing, supporting hand laid upon Him, in the comfort of that gentle voice thrilling with sympathy as it spoke its strengthening message of love! Was it a mere coincidence that just at that time and in that place the radiant messenger came? No, it is always so. Angels choose such occasions to pay their visits to men. --J. R. Miller, D. D.
But in the Olive Mount, by night appearing
'Midst the dim leaves, your holiest work was done.
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 Tale of Peter Rabbit is a British children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he is chased about the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother who puts him to bed after dosing him with camomile
tea. The tale was written for five-year-old Noel Moore, son of Potter's
former governess Annie Carter Moore, in 1893. It was revised and
privately printed by Potter in 1901 after several publishers' rejections
but was printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902.
The book was a success, and multiple reprints were issued in the years
immediately following its debut. It has been translated into 36
languages and with 45 million copies sold it is one of the best-selling books of all time.
The book has generated considerable merchandise over the decades
since its release for both children and adults with toys, dishes, foods,
clothing, videos and other products made available. Potter was one of
the first to be responsible for such merchandise when she patented a
Peter Rabbit doll in 1903 and followed it almost immediately with a
Peter Rabbit board game.
The story focuses on a family of anthropomorphic rabbits, the widowed
mother rabbit cautioning her young against entering a vegetable garden
grown by a man named Mr. McGregor, who had baked her deceased husband
into a pie. Whereas her three daughters obediently refrain from entering
the garden, her rebellious son Peter defies his mother by trespassing
into the garden to snack on some vegetables,
losing his clothes along the way. While there, Peter is seen by Mr.
McGregor and loses his clothes trying to escape. He finds difficulties
in wriggling beneath the opening in the fence through which he'd managed
to slide past earlier to invade the garden, and later finds that his abandoned clothing articles were used to dress Mr. McGregor's scarecrow.
After returning home, a sickened Peter is bedridden by his mother
whereas his well-behaved sisters receive a sumptuous dinner of milk and
berries as opposed to Peter's supper of chamomile tea.
Through the 1890s, Potter sent illustrated story letters to the children of her former governess,
Annie Moore, and, in 1900, Moore, realizing the commercial potential of
Potter's stories, suggested they be made into books. Potter embraced
the suggestion, and, borrowing her complete correspondence (which had
been carefully preserved by the Moore children), selected a letter
written on 4 September 1893 to five-year-old Noel that featured a tale
about a rabbit named Peter. Potter had owned a pet rabbit called Peter
Piper.
Potter biographer Linda Lear explains: "The original letter was too
short to make a proper book so [Potter] added some text and made new
black-and-white illustrations...and made it more suspenseful. These
changes slowed the narrative down, added intrigue, and gave a greater
sense of the passage of time. Then she copied it out into a
stiff-covered exercise book, and painted a colored frontispiece showing
Mrs. Rabbit dosing Peter with camomile tea".
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.
The middle child of three whose parents suffered from an unhappy marriage, Brown was born in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, granddaughter of Benjamin Gratz Brown. In 1923 she attended boarding school in Woodstock, Connecticut, while her parents were living in Canterbury. She began attending Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1926, where she did well in athletics. After graduation in 1928, Brown went on to Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia.
Following her graduation with a B.A. in English from Hollins in 1932, Brown worked as a teacher, and also studied art. It was while working at the Bank Street Experimental School in New York City that she started writing books for children. Her first book was When the Wind Blew, published in 1937 by Harper & Brothers.
Brown then went on to develop her Here and Now stories, and later the Noisy Book series while employed as an editor at William R. Scott. Her popular book The Little Fur Family, illustrated by Garth Williams, was published in 1946. Also in 1946, Brown wrote The Little Island and Little Lost Lamb, both under the pseudonym Golden MacDonald and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. The former won a Caldecott Honor recognition in 1946 and the latter the Caldecott Medal in 1947. In the early 1950s, she wrote several books for the Little Golden Books series including The Color Kittens, Mister Dog and Scuppers The Sailor Dog.
In 1952, Brown met James Stillman 'Pebble' Rockefeller Jr. at a
party, and they became engaged. Later that year, while on a book tour in
Nice, France, she unexpectedly died at 42 of an embolism, two weeks after emergency surgery for an ovarian cyst.
(Kicking up her leg to show the doctor how well she was feeling
ironically caused a blood clot that had formed in her leg to dislodge
and travel to her heart.)
By the time of Brown's death, she had authored well over one hundred
books. Her ashes were scattered at her island home, "The Only House" in Vinalhaven, Maine.
Brown left behind over 70 unpublished manuscripts. Her sister,
Roberta Brown Rauch, after unsuccessfully trying to sell them, kept them
in a cedar trunk for decades. In 1991, Amy Gary of WaterMark Inc.,
rediscovered the paper-clipped bundles of the more than 500 typewritten
pages and set about getting the stories published.
Many of Brown's books have been re-released with new illustrations
decades after their original publication. Many more of her books are
still in print with the original illustrations. Her books have been
translated into several languages; biographies on Brown for children
have been written by Leonard S. Marcus (Harper Paperbacks, 1999) and
Jill C. Wheeler (Checkerboard Books, 2006). Have a Carrot, a Freudian
analysis of her "classic series" of bunny books has been written by
Claudia H. Pearson (Look Again Press, 2010).
Edwin DuBose Heyward wrote the children's book The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (1939).
Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a descendant of Judge Thomas Heyward, Jr., a South Carolina signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
As a child and young man, Heyward was frequently ill. He contracted polio when he was eighteen, then two years later contracted typhoid fever and the following year fell ill with pleurisy.
Although he described himself as " a miserable student" who was
uninterested in learning, and dropped out of high school in his first
year at age fourteen, he had a lifelong and serious interest in
literature. He passed the time in his sickbed writing verses and
stories.
