EASTER

Hi everyone!
It´s been a while since my last post because I´ve been pretty busy assessing my students.
Today I´m going to write about Easter or "The Holy Week" in Spain and in English speaking countries.
Let´s start with the Spanish traditions.As you may know, I am currently living in Cuenca.

Apart from its Hanging Houses (Casas Colgadas) (see pic)  and breath-taking nature, Cuenca is well-known by its  'Holy Week' tradition.During the Holy Week, the nazarenos, the members of the many different confraternities, process, day and night, through the streets wearing robes and pointed hats in their respective colours, and carrying their impressive floats (pasos) with polychrome sculptures of the various stages of the Passion of Christ and the figure of the Virgin.
For more info click here:http://www.cibercuenca.com.es/english.html
So, whereas in Spain The Holy Week is mostly religious, in English speaking countries has a secular side as well.

The Easter Bunny

Hares and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. The inclusion of the hare into Easter customs appears to have originated in Germany, where tales were told of an "Easter hare" who laid eggs for children to find. German immigrants to America -- particularly Pennsylvania -- brought the tradition with them and spread it to a wider public. They also baked cakes for Easter in the shape of hares, and may have pioneered the practice of making chocolate bunnies and eggs.

The Easter Egg

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of birth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

Easter Cards

Easter cards arrived in Victorian England, when a stationer added a greeting to a drawing of a rabbit. According to American Greetings, Easter is now the fourth most popular holiday for sending cards. Click here to send a card:http://www.care2.com/send/Easter-Cards.html