Rites Around the World

Almost ten percent of the mostly Muslim population of Albania are Catholics, who are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the country.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Easter Sunday Mass in sun-drenched, flower-adorned St. Peter's Square, before tens of thousands of people. Easter is Christianity's most joyous day. Faithful celebrate their belief that Christ rose from the dead. At the end of Easter Mass, Benedict will go to the central balcony of the basilica to deliver a speech. Benedict, who turns 85 on April 16, was wrapping up stamina-taxing Holy Week ceremonies that drew huge crowds to Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace in the world's troublespots in his Easter Sunday message but one of the holiest days for Christians was marred by fresh violence in Nigeria and Syria.

The annual event is hosted by four area Lutheran churches and is held along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico in this community in the Florida panhandle.

Qingming, also known as Grave Sweeping Day, is a day on which Chinese honor the dead by cleaning family graves and burn offerings aimed at appeasing the dead in their afterlife.

The Dutch Bureau for Tourism and Congresses expects some 850,000 tourist to visit the Netherlands over the Easter weekend.

Los Picaos walk the streets of the northern Riojan village lashing themselves as an act of faith and penance for a sin. After some 800 lashes the Picaos are pinched in the back, to bleed to prevent bruises, with six crystals embedded in a ball of beeswax. Twelve pinches, six on each side of the back, for the twelve apostles. After the procession of the Picao has ended the back is covered and the, always adult, man is brought back to the cofradia where his wounds are treated with rosemary water and a cream of which the ingredients are a secret, passed on from generation to generation.
Many Spanish towns and villages retain such rites and religious traditions of which many are passed down from medieval times, across the Easter weekend.