A fl
i-W JT tj.i .'t-j
C 5 -f if? WW
E 5
.j - k
Waateiy a ' ;-:X
31 l.X
.
A - I... .ii. -ir.....-.-
ft
: -ran r,
r u
' X
3 S
11
It's marked by faithful in German
bread and colorful Ukrainian
eggs; it marches in traditional
processions with German
horsemen and Spanish penitents.
f
a natural symbol to use in connection with Christ's resurrection from the tomb.
In this way an ancient notion was filled with new meaning.
One of the most colorful vigils is held in Vienna. From a designated church
on Easter Saturday, a procession forms bearing a statue of Christ together with
the Blessed Sacrament. When the church procession reaches the public square,
it is met by 4,000 soldiers in dress parade. At the sound of a trumpet, the soldiers
fall upon their knees and salute with white-gloved hands. Soldiers, churchmen,
. and spectators then return to the church for the Easter Eve benediction service.
But it is in Rome that Easter reaches its full ceremonial glory. Services are
held all through Holy Week in the historic churches of that great 'city. They
reach a climax on Easter Eve when the new fire is blessed in the Basilica of
St. John Lateran and the first vespers of Easter are sung.
Sunday morning marks the great service when tens of thousands of people
crowd into St. Peter's Church in the Vatican. Announced by silver trumpets
from the balcony, the procession enters from the papal sacristy and proceeds to
the throne in the chancel of St Peter's where the solemn Papal Mass is cele
brated. Clergy, bishops, and cardinals in colorful vestments and the Swiss
Guards in full uniform precede the chair, carried aloft by attendants, on which
the pope is seated. The theme of the service is announced in the opening words,
"I arose and am still with thee, alluluia." After the Mass, the pope goes to the
balcony of St. Peter's to bless hundreds of thousands of people in the great
square. All the while the crowd cries out,. "Viva il Papa."
Caster is quite different in' Spain. There it marks the end of a fatiguing week
of penitential processions, colorful pageantry, and deep emotion. Every
night during Easter Week the various guilds in the Spanish cities march
with highly decorated floats bearing scenes of the Crucifixion. Many thousands
of pesetas often are expended on a single float. People walk in the processions
to the point of exhaustion as an act of penance. At midnight on Saturday all the
church bells ring, the first Masses of Easter are said, and in the afternoon the
bull ring opens for the new season. , .
Easter presently comes to New York with its Protestant and Catholic services
and its traditional Easter parade. A little farther west, in Bethlehem, Pa., the
Moravians observe their old customs with a sunrise service in the cemetery.
This service is preceded by a traditional love feast on Saturday afternoon, a
church supper and Easter Eve watch in the evening. At three o'clock Sunday
morning, the trombone choir tours the town in its procession to the cemetery.
There an immense congregation gathers to greet the dawn with the joyous
declaration, "He is risen, alleluia."
Easter then moves with the sun across the mountains and river valleys of
America to touch each country church and city cathedral, each hospital chapel
and neighborhood meeting house. For every congregation, whatever its faith,
the Easter message is always the same.
Easter means renewal. In the midst of a busy year, it comes with its wonder
and hope. Lovely carols and beautiful stories from long ago touch the heart
and renew man's sense of security. In joyous music and inspiring speech, Easter
reaffirms Gods love for man and the promise of life after death.
- When the great crowds gather in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to greet
the Easter sunrise, they emphasize all that has been said and felt during this day
throughout the world. Thousands of calla lilies gleam in the early light before
the band shell. A living cross is outlined by vested youth.
Trumpeters announce the service, the great choir fills the dawn with song,
and a pastor declares once more: "Thanks be unto God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Family Weekly, April 6. 1958