Easter Sunday has come and gone. Everyone's junked out on chocolate and full of leg o' lamb, taking today to recover and get ready for the start of the work/school week tomorrow. Today is actually called the Second of Easter, and aside from the fact that it's an extra day's holiday, I'm not sure why we celebrate it here in Iceland. The Hallgrímskirkju church bells were ringing like crazy this morning, summoning to mass, so there must be a religious connection, but I seem to have forgotten my Confirmation class training and can't remember what happened the day after Jesus rose to be seated at the right hand of the Father. (If we were talking about late Bronze age religion, I'd tell you that the day after the sacrifice of the reigning king, a new one was installed, to be sacrificed in turn at a later date, but we're not...)
We also have the Second of Christmas (Dec. 26th) and the Second of the New Year (Jan 2nd), so maybe these extra days are just a good excuse to extend the holidays a bit. I'm not, of course, complaining.
Valentína and I are off to a Confirmation shindig...a huge deal here on the lava rock. Fourteen year old kids get thousands of dollars worth of gifts and cash for coming of age and announcing their intent to take an active part in their society. I write "society" and not "religion" because more and more kids are taking part in civil and not Lutheran confirmation ceremonies. They are confirming that they are willing to enter adulthood and take responsibility as an Icelander, and not just specifically as a Christian. And of course they still get presents and the big party...
2 comments:
Well..am not sure about the "second of Easter" concept. But as a Lutheran here in the States...yesterday was also the Annunciation. Ironic with early Easter this year that the day after Easter is the day we remember Mary learning that she is to bear the Christ in her womb.
I really do learn from reading your blog :)
Happy Belated Easter, by the way
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