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Was Easter different 25 years ago from today? Easter is indeed a religious festivity and as your can imagine, religious celebrations and rituals do not change much. A Mass is a Mass and the same Biblical passages are repeated year after year and the colors of Lent and Easter do not change. However, there are a few things connected with Easter, especially in the lives of people, that are quite different today. Women, for example, did absolutely no work on Good Friday. They did no dishes, no laundry, not even cooking. Bread was baked on Thursday and food was prepared in advance also. Hashed fish was usually prepared as this required no refrying nor heating. To tell the truth, ladies even abstained from washing their hair on Good Friday as this was considered as work and a religious offense. Children were not allowed to do any kind of fun thing- no playing with kites, nor marbles, nor even playing the record player. There was one thing the children enjoyed doing and that was swimming in the sea. For Good Friday, there was no swimming for we were indoctrinated that we could turn into fish or worse into "mermaids". Drinking? It was a strict law that prohibited any bars from opening on Good Friday. The policeman took periodical walks to ensure that all 3 or 4 bars were closed. A few alcoholics or irreligious persons did some drinking at home, but these were highly criticized and abhorred by the village people. Bars were not allowed to be opened at 6 p.m., not even at midnight as is done today, and there was absolutely no dancing on Good Friday. Holy Saturday was the big day and everyone had abstained from dancing and parties throughout Lent and waited until Holy Saturday. At midnight the dance was suspended for everyone to go to "Misa de Gallo" or midnight Mass and then the celebration continued into Easter Sunday. So what was the big difference? Perhaps we can say that twenty five years ago there was more tolerance, patience, sacrifice, respect and a deeper religious spirit.
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