Easter
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Spanish Fiestas Easter
The high point of the liturgical calendar is not, as might be supposed, the birth of Jesus, but the Easter resurrection signifying Jesus's
triumph over death and the promise of eternal life. The actual date for this celebration varies. At he Nicea Council in 325 it was decided that it
should take palce on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox (21st March). Because of this, the time difference involved may
be as great as a month, Easter being celebrated between 22nd March and 25th April. Thus the dates for Srovetide, Lent, Holy Week, the Ascension, Whit Sunday,
Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi are fixed accordingly.
On Easter Sunday in Castile-La Mancha as in Castile-Leon, and in other parts of Madrid, Andalusia and the Basque Country, a
rag or straw effigy representing Judas is burnt. In some places it is filled with rockets or explosives, producing a most spectacular effect at the moment of truth
--normally on a bonfire or even under a hail of gunfire.
The Descent of the Angel is celebrated in a fashion common to Aranda de Duero (Burgos), Peñafiel (Valladolid) and Tudela (Navarre).
A child dressed as an angel is lowered down by a rope, sometimes hidden in a type of could which opens at the given moment. The child then removes the black veil
covering the Virgin Mary's face.
Emotional reunion ceremonies between the resurrected Christ and his Mother usually occur during processions held on this day. These sometimes culminate in an embrace
between the two figures as happens in the Coria embrace ceremony in Coria del Río (Seville) where the bearers compete to see who can best step up the
rhythm. There are races which turn into fierce competitions in Pilas (Seville), and also in Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz), the end result of which
is the reunion. In Elche (Alicante) thousands of multicoloured streamers displaying religious images are thrown from balconies before the resurrected Christ
and the Virgin of the Ascension as they pass below.
Of note in Catalonia are the caramelles, traditional Easter hymns usually sung in the street, while all sorts of food is collected in a basket. During this period
the Fiesta del Bollu (Cake Festival) is held in Avilés (Asturias), the vueltas rocieras (open-air festival) in Castilleja de la Cuesta
(Sevilla), Lord's Day in Finisterre with the performance of a sacramental play (La Coruña), Firewater Day in Portomarín (Lugo),
the Trujillo Passover in Trujillo (Cáceres) and the Toro embolao in Vejer de la Frontera (Cádiz).
Easter Monday and Tuesday (and even Easter Sunday in some places) are notable for the amount of outdoor festivals, where it is typical to eat chocolate buns or cakes in
specific regions. In Murcia there is the Spring Festival, with the Orchard Proclamation, and the Burial of the Sardine, in Pola de Siero
(Asturias) the Festival of Painted Eggs can be seen, and in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo) the Mondas ceremony takes place on the Saturday. On the Sunday
following Easter (known as Low Sunday or Quasimodo Sunday) San Vicente de la Barquera (Cantabria) stages the Folía ceremony accompanied by the local
Picayos group and the Charles V dancers. On the Monday the Miracle Plays by San Vicente Ferrer are performed in Valencia.
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