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Show Easter in Other Lands OF ALL annual festivals among Christian nations, Easter seems to have made the most serious impression, and the customs connected with its first celebrations to have lingered lin-gered the longest. Europe, with its many nations, and, therefore, many peoples, has ..ever been the scene of various ceremonies distinctly belonging to the separate countries, with the Latin church always in the lead In the matter of picturesque symbols and processions. pro-cessions. Strange customs, sometimes combined com-bined with elaborate ceremonies, are found oftenest in the rural districts, where the people have not free access to the towns, and simplicity of living does not question the difference between be-tween truth and tradition. In Brittany many interesting customs cus-toms are observed. It is a land o legends. The very people, quaintly dressed as they were a thousand years ago, suggest legends and traditions. When the faith of the Nazarene was first preached to their ancestors they held the mammoth stones w;hich abound in the fields and countryside in deep veneration. The church united stories of wonderful won-derful stones with the word of Christ, so that its teaching might sooner develop de-velop converts. Fete days were held in high esteem, and many queer beliefs and associations became entangled with the festivals. On Easter morning at the Church ol St. Cronley, in the village of Finisiere, Brittany, every man, woman and child of the vicinity is in attendance. The women and children are in their best frocks and snowiest caps, and the men are leading the cattle to the door of this church, which would do credit to a city of size. There the priest receives the men and animals, and while the women cluster clus-ter around, gravely listening, the cattle are blessed and the! care of St. Cronley invoked in their behalf. This saint is a great favorite all over Brittany ; and. like so many traditions of the Bretons, his story is connected with the giant stones. It appears that he was a bishop bish-op of Kome come up to the province to convert the heathen. He was hunted by wild men until death seemed near, when suddenly every ev-ery pursuer was turned into a stone, and so they stand today, one group forming a regular border along the road from Carnac to Kerlescant. Mounting many of these stones are crucifixes and on Easter morning the little processions passing through the fields and along the road to the nearest near-est church stop and rest a few' moments mo-ments and offer up an Easter prayer. In scattered communities, where there are few towns, an Easter service is often held in the fields, and a sermon preached from a wayside shrine, set In one of the historical stones. |