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Popular Easter festivals and traditions

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Procesion_semana_santa_jpereira(Holy Week procession in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.)

Many customs dating back to ancient times designed to accommodate the return of spring attached themselves to Easter. The egg is the symbol of germination occurs in early spring. Similarly, the hare is an ancient symbol which has always represented fertility. In France and especially in Quebec, some popular myths speak of picking Easter Water. In the Quebec Catholic Church, picking Easter Water is not a myth, because since the Easter Vigil or Easter morning Mass ends, it is actually possible to fill a small pot with a bit of water that has been blessed during the celebration to bring home. In fact the myth wanted to collect rain water fell on Easter morning. This water thus collected was said that it allowed to cure diseases. In Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, in the region of Alsace and the Moselle department, Martinique, French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Reunion, Easter Monday is associated with another holiday : the “Karfreitag” or Good Friday. During Easter, like Christmas, it is not uncommon for people to give gifts to each other on this occasion.

In Germany and France, the Easter meal is often the opportunity to share a roast leg of lamb accompanied by beans. In Alsace and parts of Germany, it bakes lamb shaped biscuit called Osterlammele or Lamala. This Catholic Alsatian tradition for Lamala is evidenced by the Catholic theologian Thomas Murner in 1519: the groom offered a Passover lamb to his bride. It is also offered to children after the return of the Mass of Easter Day. After Lent, this rich biscuit eggs allowed to end the accumulated stock of eggs before Easter and whose consumption was discouraged, awaiting Easter. The lamb was decorated with a banner in the colors of the Vatican (yellow and white) or Alsace (red and white). This tradition, like most, lost his faith – and was secularized.

Image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Procesion_semana_santa_jpereira.jpg

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