At Eastertime, the most important holiday in the Christian world, religious processions in many Latin American countries pass over ornate street "carpets" fashioned from colored sawdust, flowers and fruit. Children in Finland and Sweden dress as "Easter witches." In the Caribbean, those who swim on Good Friday risk bad luck. In the Philippines, some penitents volunteer to be crucified. In some European countries, Easter Monday is the day for dousing women with water. With 240 entries, this book explores these and scores of other unusual and sometimes bizarre international Holy Week customs, both sacred and secular, from pilgrimages to Jerusalem to classic seasonal films and television specials.

A short introduction about Easter from the perspective of various religions, traditions and cultures, including Easter season, Easter bread, Easter eggs, greetings, etc. Easter is the most important religious holiday of the Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred after his death by crucifixion in AD 27-33 (see Good Friday). Easter can also refer to the season of the church year, lasting for fifty days, which follows this holiday and ends at Pentecost. The Easter festival is kept in many different ways among Western Christians. The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among Roman Catholics and some Lutherans and Anglicans begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil. This, the most important liturgy of the year, begins in total darkness with the blessing of the Easter fire, the lighting of the large Paschal candle (symbolic of the Risen Christ) and the chanting of the Exsultet or Easter Proclamation attributed to Saint Ambrose of Milan. A short introduction about Easter from the perspective of various religions, traditions and cultures, including Easter season, Easter bread, Easter eggs, greetings, etc.

An examination of the symbols of worship, tracing their origins, what they have meant through the ages, and whether their meaning is clear for Christians today.

The information presented in this book will startle the world. For centuries, the authenticity of the Holy Shroud has been argued about. Skeptics push their negative opinion based on a few highly questionable clues, while the authenticists continue to detect new facts confirming that the Relic wrapped the corpse of Jesus Christ and that the body image impressed on it was produced by a source of energy generated during the Resurrection. What is world-changing is that to explain this "impossible image" of a tortured and crucified man, the book presents a startling new hypothesis, the "Divine Photograph" taken at the instant of the Resurrection, based on a phenomenon, the "Miracle of the Holy Fire" that manifests on every Holy Saturday at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. As this amazing relationship becomes more broadly known, the world will be shocked.

The greatly revised and enlarged twelve-volume third edition (1911-15) of Sir James Frazer's controversial work on classical religion.

This incomparable volume presents a comprehensive exploration and explanation of medieval liturgical celebrations. The reverent prayers, hymns and rubrics used in the Middle Ages are described in detail and interpreted through the commentary of scholars from the same time period, the era which is also known as the "Age of Faith". Collected here is a wide range of ceremonies, encompassing the seven sacraments, the major feasts of the liturgical year (such as Christmas, Easter, and Corpus Christi), and special liturgical rites (from the coronation of the pope to the blessing of expectant mothers). The sacred celebrations have been drawn from countries across western and central Europe-from Portugal to Poland-but particular attention has been given to liturgical texts of medieval Spain, which until now have received relatively little attention from scholars. Historian James Monti has done exhaustive research on medieval liturgical manuscripts, early printed missals, and the writings of medieval liturgists and theologians so that the treasures they contain can inspire a sense of the sacred in future generations of Catholics.