Resurrection

easter

The Emmaus procession on Easter Monday.

(Bild: Stiftspfarre St. Paul im Lavanttal)

The red cross on a white background stands for the triumph of life over death. A resurrected man in East Tyrol even triggered a church ban. The firecrackers go off and the celebrations begin. Even the big ones play...

The firecrackers have been going off since late on Holy Saturday evening, especially in the countryside, and today, Easter Sunday, shots of joy proclaim the resurrection of Jesus and the hope of eternal life. However, there is no longer as much shooting as in the past, when "the churchgoers were shot away, the farmer was greeted with a shot on his return home and at lunchtime, with the roast, the roast shot thundered", as Inge and Franz Auer report in "Zeitreise durch Metnitz" (Wolfgang Hager Verlag).

15th station of the Way of the Cross by Karl Vouk in Maria Saal.

(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

The central religious truth of the resurrection was often represented to the eye by a lamb being led to the slaughter, but waving the flag of victory.

It was not until the 12th century that artists depicted Christ rising from the grave. Thomas von Villach, who was one of the most important fresco and panel painters in Carinthia in the 15th century, created such a depiction of the Risen Christ together with the flag of victory in the parish church of St. Andrä in Thörl-Maglern.

Some Stations of the Cross show the resurrection of Jesus as the 15th station.

Scandal over the Risen Christ - until the church was banned
The East Tyrolean artist Albin Egger-Lienz also created a risen Christ with a flag of victory for the memorial chapel in Lienz: the dean of the time found the Redeemer too little divine, too little triumphant, but rather powerless, and critics described him as consumptive. In 1926, an interdict was imposed on the chapel: The church forbade services to be held in the chapel. Six months later, the artist died and was buried in the controversial chapel - not without months of discussion. It was not until the 1980s that the church ban was lifted and the chapel was consecrated again.

More blessings when eating with your fingers
Among the numerous customs that enrich the joyous festival, the colorful Easter eggs are enormously important. The egg as the origin of life is even inextricably linked to the festival of resurrection, the beginning of new life. Red-colored eggs also remind us of the drops of Jesus' blood. In some places it is said that the ham in the Easter snack stands for the body of Christ, horseradish is a sign of overcoming suffering and a symbol of nails, while the Reindling represents the crown of thorns. Because the blessing is supposed to be transferred from the food to the people, the snack used to be eaten with the fingers.

Resurrection in Hermann Bidner's Passion crib in Villach.

(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

On Easter Sunday, it is not only children who look for colorful eggs; "Gotl" or godparents bring Reindlinge with coins baked into them. Eggs are "pecked" or rolled over two rake sticks held together - the owner of the stronger or faster egg wins the opponent's Easter symbol.

Ball club celebrates
The grown-ups also play at Easter: In Deutsch-Griffen, Altenmarkt and Wachsenberg, ball throwing is on the program, in Zweinitz, ball hitting. The ball throwing club is celebrating its 30th anniversary! The Easter custom starts at 1 p.m. at the Brinar Mühl, where the motto is "Kolben heil!".

The Emm walk, which is customary in some parishes on Easter Monday, is reminiscent of a passage from the Bible: After Jesus' death, two desperate disciples walked the 60 stages from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus joined them - but they did not recognize him. Only when he broke the bread at the meal and spoke the hymn did their eyes open, Luke tells us in the Gospel. And Jesus said to the doubting, pessimistic Thomas: "Because you have seen me, you believe. Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe."