It’s a very different Easter this year, isn’t it? But for me, as someone who has a faith, the Easter message is even more important. It’s one of complete unconditional love, and love something we definitely need to be spreading right now. I send you bucket loads of love and hope you are safe and well.
How would the Tudors have celebrated this day, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday. Well, the candles in the church and around the Easter sepulchre were extinguished, and then the priest would re-light them from the church fire. The Easter Sepulchre, which represented Christ’s tomb, would be opened and Christ’s resurrection would be celebrated with a special mass.
And, of course, there’d be feasting, for now Lent was over and it was time to celebrate with good food!
Here in Spain, there are usually big processions on this day and one thing I really love is the passion play of Cuevas del Campo. You can see photos I took a few years ago in an article I did for the Tudor Society – click here.
On this day in history, 12th April 1533, Anne Boleyn made her very first public appearance as King Henry VIII’s official queen consort. She didn’t half set tongues wagging when she processed to mass accompanied by 60 ladies and dressed to the nines. Find out more in last year’s video:
Our present queen, Elizabeth II, who is, of course, a descendant of not only the Tudors but of the Boleyns, gave a special Easter speech:
Happy Easter, He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
My birthday falls on Easter Sunday this year. Had it not been for the pandemic I would have been on my way to Santiago de Compostela today, but my cruise got cancelled.
We all must make sacrifices, as an extremely vulnerable person I am confined to home for 12 weeks. My sister has lost her hairdressing business. At such a time the wise words of our lovely Queen urging us to seek the light and hope of Easter amongst the darkness are so apt.
Wow, think of all of the people around the world celebrating your birthday this year! 🙂
Happy Easter everyone! Found out yesterday afternoon in an email what my church is going to be doing today. They’re going to join the Greater Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Churches in a joint online service. Should be interesting. He is Risen! Hope you all have a Blessed day.
Happy Easter everyone, on this day hundreds of years ago Anne Boleyn set tongues wagging when she joined in the Easter mass imagine the gossip and the eyes cast in her direction, Katherine in previous years had fulfilled this role, but her place had been taken by her one time lady in waiting , Anne was triumphant and must have been enjoying every minute whilst Katherine was banished from court and had taken up residence somewhere in some lonely castle or palace, it must have been a beautiful scene when the priest extinguished the candles and then re lit them, there is something so beautiful about rows of lit candles the flickering colours of gold and amber they cast on the company, and around the walls of the church, it must have been a sacred hushed scene, then the feasting would begin, and what a feast they must have had, all kinds of delicacies and the wine would have flowed, for Anne this she must have felt was her special day, she was now Henrys Queen and Katherine had effectively been banished into the wilderness, she was pregnant and hope to bring forth a prince, she must have felt ecstatic and triumphant all at once.
Happy Easter to all of you and Jesus is Risen Indeed. Thanks Claire to you and the beautiful photos you posted from Easter in Spain a couple of years ago.
Anne Boleyn this day was publicly shown as Queen in a cloth of golden frieze and with 60 young women and with the attendance of Mary Howard, future Countess of Richmond came forth to the Mass of Easter Virgil which is the Eve of Holy Saturday, the night the fire is lite and the candles declare the light of the dawn of Resurrection, the first Mass of Easter. Today it may be held at 8p.m or Midnight and you light the fire and process into the Church to attend the Mass as the lights are lite around the Church one by one until all is light and the Mass began. Anne was prayed for as Queen for the first time in public and yet, Henry still has to beg his people and officials to treat her as Queen. Anne was at one of her finest moments, this was for her a public recognition of her as Queen, yet still all Henry could do was beg because his Parliament had not yet passed the appropriate laws to compel obedience.
On the same day Thomas Cromwell was made Secretary to the Exchequor and Thomas Cranmer asked leave to form a Commission to examine the legality of Henry’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon and his new marriage. Henry gave the appropriate authority to the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the formalities began which changed Tudor history.
Happy Easter to everyone. Take care everyone and stay well.
Happy Easter, Claire!