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A century after Cook and Peary; this weekend John Huston and Tyler Fish became the first American team to reach the North Pole without assistance.

Concerns are grave for Martin Minarik, missing on Annapurna.

In other news: several major new route attempts were announced last week. A climber brought news from the Piolet d’Or award. ExWeb ran a number of interviews with researchers, climbers and polar explorers. The Indian Ocean race kicked off to a hard start: three boats retired, two within 36 hours.

Annapurna south watch: Czech Martin Minarik and French Elisabeth Revol reached Annapurna’s Eastern summit (8,021m) on Monday following eight days of rough conditions on the peak’s south side. By Wednesday while on descent, Eli Revol reported over SMS that “Martin is not well.” A report brought Sunday by Libor Uher’s website and later confirmed by Czech mountain news sources said that Eli and Martin split up at 7100 meters where Martin became unable to move on his own. Revol was found exhausted in Manang village and met with Libor´s team and Ms. Hawley in Kathmandu on Friday, trying to detail her route of descent. A two day search by helicopters and a team of Sherpa has been unsuccessful and the heli SAR was reportedly called off today.

From Annapurna to Kangchenjunga: “Conditions on Annapurna’s south face are too dangerous,” Nives & Romano’s home team reported. “Thus, the climbers are switching back to their original goal: Kangchenjunga.”

Annapurna north: Bad conditions on Anna’s north side thwarted all of Babanov & Afanasiev’s attempts to acclimatize up any of the routes. The Czech route was aborted due to a snow storm; a second push up the classical French was halted due to high risk of avalanches and serac falls. A huge snow-slide buried most of the ropes previously fixed by a Korean expedition and by Friday the two climbers decided to abandon altogether. “Annapurna is currently too dangerous both on its North and West sides – under such conditions; we can’t properly acclimatize for a serious climb,” commented Babanov.

Manaslu: massive summit push is on! Carlos Pauner, Joao Garcia, Mario Merelli, the French and Korean climbers are all on a big push, hoping to attempt the summit on or around April 27th. “The forecast shows three days of good weather, and then a major storm,” said Carlos Pauner about the tiny window.

ExWeb interviews with Joao Garcia. He is the first Portuguese summiteer of nine +8000 meter peaks, including Everest and K2 – all without supplementary oxygen. Only three 8000ers now remain to complete Joao’s quest for the 14 tallest mountains in the world. ExWeb caught up with the climber in Manaslu BC for a 2-part interview shortly before the current summit push.

Cho Oyu south-east face: Denis Urubko for new line in alpine style Only Cho Oyu remains on Urubko’s list of all 14, 8000ers. The politics holding his last mountain hostage proved an opportunity in disguise. Together with Boris Dedeshko, Denis will attempt Cho Oyu not from China – but from Nepal. The two mountaineers plan to study the wall for 5-6 days before the upcoming climb, which will go in alpine style.

Everest south side: A large chunk of ice collapsed mid-week in the Khumbu Icefall while over 100 Sherpas were heading up to C2. No injuries were reported, but the route was blocked for most of the day. A large number of Sherpa is currently fixing a double-lane route up the Lhotse Face towards C3. The Kazakh LET team moved their C3 camp to 7,300 meters by Friday. Explore Himalaya is launching “Everest Skydive 2009” run by world champion skydivers. Seven Summits Club reached the top of Amadablam (6856m) on April 18 and Island Peak on April 9 as the first climbers this season. Leader Victor Bobok then headed to Everest south side BC as guide for Alex Abramov.

Everest north side: Norwegian Jarle Traa is off to attempt Everest from its north side. After acclimatizing by climbing Elbrus twice, Jarle will continue his strategy from Shisha in 2006 and Cho Oyu in 2004 to climb independent with no Sherpa and no supplementary oxygen support. Canadian Manuel Pizarro and team mate André are rearranging to climb Everest from Tibet instead of their originally planned South side. SummitClimb reached ABC on Thursday. Japanese Kanagawa University’s Qomolangma team set off from Interim Camp towards ABC on Wednesday. The Serbian expedition was acclimatizing around the lower BC Friday while they arrange yaks to carry their loads to ABC.

Dhaulagiri mourning: Slovak Peter Hamor is back in Kathmandu, working all paperwork related to his friend Polish Piotr Morawski’s fatal accident on the mountain. “Blurry thoughts are slowly clearing up – very slowly,” Peter wrote. “In recent months, some great climbers were lost to the mountains: Jean-Christophe, Inaki, Jean Noel… And now ‘Tres Pedros’ belong to the past, since the youngest and healthiest of the three is gone…”

Cho Oyu unrestricted? In spite of closed borders, a few teams are reaching Cho Oyu’s Chinese BC. Members of a Belgian expedition arrived Monday.

E-Gongga (Mt.Edgar): “Jannu’s” for new route Jannu North face summiteers Alexander “Alex” Ruchkin and Mikhail “Misha” Mikhailov are off to Minya Konka massif (Western Sichuan), hoping to achieve the first alpine style ascent of E-Gongga (6618m) SE face.

Lunag Ri, so close: Following an ascent of the South Face of Jobo Rinzang (6,777 meters), the Eastern sub peak of the main summit – in the last report Joe and David were to climb a knife-edge 2km ridge to Lunag Ri’s main top.

Pumori: Russia for a new route: Russia’s Krasnoyarsk climbers hope to open a new route up the south face of Pumori.

Nanda Devi East: Polish Marcin Miotk and Grzegorz Mroz are leading a team currently on their way to Nanda Devi East, in an anniversary climb 70 years after a fellow Polish expedition achieved the peak’s first ascent. A British expedition led by Marin Moran is also on their way, in the first-ever guided attempt on the mountain’s East Summit.

Exweb Week-In-Review is sponsored by HumanEdgeTech the world’s premier supplier of expedition technology. Our team helps you find ultra light expedition tech that works globally.

e-mail or call +1 212 966 1928

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

MARCIN MIOTK – alpinista młodego pokolenia, fotograf, filmowiec. Od kilku lat sukcesywnie realizuje swoje marzenia związane z górami wysokimi. Mimo młodego wieku zdobył kilka trudnych szczytów, w tym trzy szczyty ośmiotysięczne. W roku 2004 Marcin zdobył Pik Pobiedy (7439 m n.p.m.) – jeden z najtrudniejszych siedmiotysięczników świata. W roku 2005 roku spełnił swoje wielkie marzenie – jako pierwszy Polak wszedł na Mount Everest bez używania dodatkowego tlenu.

· 1999 – ANDY, ACONCAGUA (6959 m) – samotne wejście od strony Plaza Argentina
· 1999 – HIMALAJE, SHISHA PANGMA MIDDLE (8013 m)
· 2001 – ANDY, HUANA POTOSI (6088 m)
· 2002 – MT KENIA (5199 m)
· 2002 – TIEN SHAN, CHAN TENGRI (7010 m)
· 2003 – HIMALAJE, CHO OYU (8201 m) – szybki atak z obozu II (7000 m n.p.m.)
· 2004 – TIEN SHAN, PIK POBIEDY (7439 m) – szybkie wejście w stylu alpejskim
· 2005 – HIMALAJE, ANNAPURNA (8091 m) – dojście do 7300 m drogą Bonningtona
· 2005 – HIMALAJE, MOUNT EVEREST (8850 m) – pierwsze polskie wejście bez użycia tlenu, samotnie, bez pomocy Szerpów

Więcej o wyprawach Marcina na stronie www.miotk.pl

Droga wejsciowa – Everest North 2005 – pierwsze polskie wejście bez użycia tlenu.

Źródło:  – http://himalman.wordpress.com/

* zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

Investigating all clues, American historian Tom Holzel pin-pointed Irvine’s possible location in a 3-part series at ExWeb last week. Another special was a story about Himalaya ski/board-mountaineers.

In other news: the first Everest climbers have crossed over to Tibet, Australian Andrew Lock is postponing both climbs, two teams bumped into each other on the Arctic ice, and Olly Hicks Antarctic circumnavigation row has been abandoned.

ExWeb series special: the search for Andrew Irvine, by Tom Holzel Everest North side, 1999: on a snow terrace at 8,200 meters, an international team of mountaineers found Mallory’s body. The corpse showed severe rope-jerk injuries around the waist, suggesting that he could have fallen to his death while roped-up with climbing mate Andrew Irvine. No trace of Irvine was to be found though; or the camera the two carried on their last climb. It became one of the greatest mysteries in climbing history, with many still searching the barren slopes for the missing clues. Following a systematic research American historian Tom Holzel has found (more than) a clue to Irvine’s possible location – which he explained in a big three-part series published at ExWeb last week.

ExWeb 2009 sky-descent special: surfing down frozen giants This spring, German Luis Stitzinger aims for a complete ski-descent of Dhaulagiri. American Ben Clark is back to Himalaya for an attempt to ski down Baruntse and in summer, Swedish extreme skier Fredrik Ericsson will kick off his attempt to become the first to ski the world’s three highest mountains: Mount Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga. For such extreme athletes, the summit is truly half-way there and last week ExWeb ran a special story on the unique world of Himalaya ski/board-mountaineers.

The Kazakh traverse team is considering the West ridge of Everest for descent. The team set up C1 on Everest south side Wednesday, hoping to establish C2 on the Western Cwm and venture to C3’s location before the weekend. Vaso (leader) Max, Sergei Samoilov, Alex Sofrygin, Evgeniy Shutov and Artem Skopin are attempting the LE traverse, while a second team including Dmitriy Grekov, Nikolay Gudnik, Alex Rudakov, and Sveta will head for Lhotse.

Everest south side BC not so crowded “Our Sherpas seem to be in agreement that this year there seems to be fewer teams at base camp than last season,” noted Altitude Junkies’ Phil Crampton. “We were under the impression that we would see record numbers of climbers this spring but we think there have been several groups cancel their plans last minute.” An expedition leaders’ meeting was reportedly held between IMG, HimEx, Adventure Consultants and Jagged Globe, along with a number of international teams. Peak Freaks’ Tim Rippel reported about 30 people attending – including the ever-present Discovery channel filming crew. Ed Viesturs plans to summit Everest without supplementary oxygen, David Hahn reported.

Everest North side SummitClimb had a hard day crossing the border in Zhangmu Tuesday, but eventually managed to get into Tibet, leader Arnold Coster reported from Tingri. Japan’s Kanagawa University team was permitted to enter Lhasa last week, after climbing Yara Peak in Langtang. The situation is still uncertain for Dragan Jacimovic’s Serbian team, delayed in Kathmandu for over a week and then stopped near the border mid last week due to a blockade of the road to Kodary (on the Tibetan side of the border). Libor Uher and his team reached 5850 m on Annapurna but bad conditions aborted the expedition; now turning to Everest north side (normal route). Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki had still not received his permit by March 25 and was forced to switch for Dhaulagiri instead, considering to give Everest a try in fall instead.

Australian Andrew Lock hoped to complete his 14×8000ers quest on Shisha followed by Everest north side without supplementary O2. Unable to secure a climbing permit, Andrew and climbing mate Hector will try again in the post monsoon.

“Our goal is to lay fresh tracks on an unexplored feature of Baruntse…a rib that runs down the Northeast face of the mountain like a lightning bolt. Each jagged kink in this striking feature could surprise us with firm blue ice, cold grey granite and adventurous problem solving,” reported Ben Clark, Josh Butson and Jon Miller.

Roland Hunter, Mick Parker and Paul Hudson reached Makalu’s lower BC on April 7th. Climbing on the peak’s normal route, they moved up to ABC, at 5,700m, on April 10th.

Manaslu Carlos Pauner reported that Czech Radek Jaros and four young Iranian climbers are new arrivals on the peak. Joao García will be on his own for the remains of the climb as work obligations force Jean-Luc Fohal and Johan Perrier back home by May 1st. The Korean Dynamic Busan Hope team’s summit bid was thwarted by strong wind at the 7,300/7,400 meters plateau on April 14th.

Annapurna Elisabeth Revol reported over SMS on Friday that the team remained on 6,700m (reached on Wednesday) due to wind and snow storm.

Kangchenjunga Edurne Pasaban’s Spanish team has reached BC.

Cho Oyu Spanish TV Al Filo de lo Imposible is supporting a team of physically-challenged climbers on Cho Oyu this spring; Ricardo García, Valentín Ruiz, Miguel A. Gavilán and Arturo Rodriguez will climb without O2 support.

Exweb Week-In-Review is sponsored by HumanEdgeTech the world’s premier supplier of expedition technology. Our team helps you find ultra light expedition tech that works globally.

e-mail or call +1 212 966 1928

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

Mark your calendars!
57th TRENTO FILM FESTIVAL
21 April to 3 May, 2009

TRENTO. A few days ago the new board of directors of the TrentoFilmfestival that will head the event until 2011 nominated Egidio Bonapace as president and reconfirmed Maurizio Nichetti as artistic director and Augusto Golin as delegated director.

The 57th TrentoFilmfestival, the oldest and most acclaimed international festival of mountains, exploration and adventure films, scheduled in 2009 from 21 April to 3 May, is already projected.

The TrentoFilmfestival is again seeking feature films, documentaries, journalistic stories or shorts by film-makers able to portray the people and places of mountains and adventure in an original way.
The new regulations and entry form for the films are already available online on site www.trentofestival.it.

Among the innovations officially decided and inserted in the regulations, an Audience Prize for a film on ‘mountaineering’, besides the one for a feature film.

No variation, instead, in the official prizes of the TrentoFilmfestival:
The Gran Premio “Città di Trento” – Gold Gentian and 5000 Euro – for the best film of all, possessing high artistic qualities, that corresponds to the cultural aims pursued by the Festival.
The Italian Alpine Club Prize – Gold Gentian and 3000 Euro – for the best film on mountains and mountaineering.
The City of Bolzano Prize – Gold Gentian and 3000 Euro – for the best film on sport, exploration, or adventure.
The Silver Gentian and 1500 Euro – for the best short film.
The Silver Gentian and 1500 Euro – for the best television production.
The Silver Gentian and 1500 Euro – for the best artistic technical contribution.
The deadline for entering the films in the 57th TrentoFilmfestival is 31 January 2009 for films produced in 2007 or 2008; 28 February 2009 for films produced in 2009.

Also downloadable from the Internet site are the regulations and participation in “MontagnaLibri”, the 23rd International Review of Mountain Publications, the main world event dedicated to books on mountains, which is held alongside and, as always, opens a few days prior to the Filmfestival.

** Download files :

Poster 2009

Holiday packages

Mountain Film Festivals :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

** zapraszam na relacje z innych wypraw polskich himalaistów.

I Recommend …

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BAI trips are unique, too, because of what happens before and after our major treks and climbs. Our ascent of Mount Elbrus begins and ends in the captivating Russian city of St. Petersburg. We climb Lobuche Peak before attempting the summit of Ama Dablam. And a Berg Adventures safari is worth the trip to Africa on its own, and a great adventure to share with family and friends after a Kilimanjaro summit climb.

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They won an ExWeb award for their great 2006 Himalayan Trilogy; last week “The Peters’” Himalayan saga was tragically ended when Piotr Morawski perished in a crevasse on Dhaulagiri.

In other news: the first climbing permits have reportedly been granted for Everest north side, Annapurna normal route sports a dangerous serac; and a big avalanche buried Manaslu BC.

The repositioning of Inmarsat satellites has caused a lower BGAN aiming angle in Himalaya; a diving scientist reported a record underwater ice-ridge in the Arctic Ocean, and pirates in the Gulf of Aden are facing tougher times ahead.

Polish Piotr Morawski perished in a crevasse on Dhaulagiri April 8 at 8.40 am local time, while returning from C2. At only 33, Piotr had summited six 8000ers, and made the first winter summit on Shisha Pangma (together with Simone Moro in January, 2005).

Part of Piotr Pustelnik’s Himalayan Trilogy team and teaming up with regular mate Peter Hamor; Piotr Morawski was climbing Dhaulagiri as a preparatory ascent before attempting to open a new route on Manaslu’s west face.

* see : -  Piotr Morawski the famous Polish climber. /Version english and polish/

- Dhaulagiri/Manaslu Expedition 2009 part 2 – it’s over. Wyprawa Hamor & Morawski – Dhaulagiri/Manaslu 2009 cz.2. /Version english and polish/

- Breaking news: Piotr Morawski lost on Dhaulagiri. Piotr Morawski zginął na Dhaulagiri. /Version english and polish/

- Himalayan Triptych Reactivated – part 2# and 3#: Gasherbrum and Broad Peak traverses. /Version english/

- all my post, select category : Piotr Morawski

Everest North side climbing permit granted SummitClimb got news from Lhasa last week that their Everest permit has been approved, Arnold Coster reported.

Serbian Jacimovic back to Everest – North side Serbian Dragan Jacimovic is also launching a commercial expedition on Everest north side this spring. The team this year comprises 18 climbers from ex Yugoslavian republics of Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and from Italy. Should they succeed, the Montenegro flag (the youngest state in the former Yugoslavia) will flap on top of the world.

Everest’s First Ascent team: RMI Guides, Hahn and Viesturs Rainier Mountain Guides have launched an American all-star expedition aiming for Everest south side: The “First Ascent team” led by Peter Whittaker also features Ed Viesturs (14×8000ers w/o 02), Everest multi-summiteer Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot and Seth Waterfall. Accompanying the climbers is a filming crew headed by Gerry Moffatt, with Jake Norton as photographer.

More Americans on Everest Johnny Strange, 17, hopes to become the youngest American to climb Mount Everest (joining Scott Woolums’ expedition), and the youngest 7Summiteer worldwide. American John Golden is climbing Everest from its south side, together with Jon Shea and Phinjo Sherpa. Golden has a transplanted knee, as a result of a football accident back in 2005.

Everest comms and security numbers In order to provide better communications on Everest as well as with lower Khumbu and Kathmandu, the Eco Everest Expedition 2009 will have one base station at Camp 2, one at Base Camp and one in Asian Trekking’s office in Khumjung, Ang Tsering reported. “There will be telephone and internet connectivity. Our frequency this year is: 00 870772223518 OR 00870772223596. I would recommend that all climbers please make a note of this: In case of emergencies on the mountain, we can transfer messages down to Kathmandu rapidly should this be required.” Eco Everest team is led by Apa Sherpa (18 times Everest summiteer).

Two lanes in Khumbu Icefall As last year, there will be two ropes-lines in the Khumbu Icefall; word is that a third line might be established this year as well.

Mondinelli returns – for another Lhotse summit ”I’m leaving again for the Himalayas. I’ll go back to the South Col to check the weather station we installed last year and, if I am still on time, I will try to reach Lhotse’s summit,” reported 14, 8000ers (w/o 02) summiteer Italian Silvio “Gnaro” Mondinelli.

Annapurna: Valery and Victor have climbed to 5,600 m; so have Nives and Romano; Revol & co reached 6,100m; Libor set C1 at 5,020m, and a Korean team was somewhere in between last week before a bad weather spell forced most mountaineers back to BC on Annapurna. Babanov reported dangerous conditions right above C2 on the normal route, due to a large overhanging serac. His and Victor’s second acclimatization trip will therefore go up the Czech route.

From Greenland to Cho Oyu – authorities permitting Nick Nielsen, a climber from Greenland, arrived Kathmandu last week hoping to get a climbing permit for Cho Oyu.

Korean Oh Eun-sun aiming for 4×8000ers in one year Currently on her way to Kangchenjunga, Korean lady climber Oh Eun-sun hopes to climb all 14×8000ers in a record time. Oh claims nine 8000+ meter summits (Editors Note: the number varies pending source) and she hopes to bag four more this year, according to Korean Chosun paper.

Manaslu 2008 summit cleared by Miss Hawley On Manaslu last fall, several large commercial teams’ summit reports didn’t add up to other climbers’ climbing notes cutting numbers of success down to barely half. Serbian Jacimovic’s team summit (currently enroute to Everest north side) had apparently not been confirmed by Miss Hawley. “Miss Hawley said the Lukla air accident last year had created some confusion, and thus Manaslu summit list was left incomplete,” team member Nina Adjanin, and also a 2008 Manaslu summiteer, stated on the expedition website. “After checking the facts, Jacimovic’s team has their Manaslu summit finally confirmed by Miss Hawley.”

Manaslu: ExWeb interview with Carlos Pauner, “you either win or lose; there are no ties here” He has 8×8000ers summited plus an even larger number of attempts. In 2003, Pauner miraculously survived after being lost for two days lost on Kangchenjunga’s upper slopes. A few years later he barely escaped a chopper-crash on Makalu; and last spring he had another close call – on Lhotse. Yet Carlos Pauner won’t give up in his goal to climb all 14×8000ers. Last week, he set BC on yet another snow-packed 8000er – Manaslu – and answered ExWeb’s Angela Benavides’ call for an interview.

A huge avalanche hit Manaslu’s BC shortly after the interview; burying Carlos Pauner’s, Joao García’s, South Korean and French expeditions’ tents. No injuries are reported.

Makalu West Pillar Alberto Inurrategi & co report heavy rains on their third day trek to Makalu BC; raising questions how the porters will manage to cross the Shipton La pass if it turns out packed with snow.

Exweb Week-In-Review is sponsored by HumanEdgeTech the world’s premier supplier of expedition technology. Our team helps you find ultra light expedition tech that works globally.

e-mail or call +1 212 966 1928

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

Easter, also called Pascha, is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.^[1] It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day after his crucifixion around AD 33. Many non-religious cultural elements have become part of the holiday, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.

Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter.

Easter is termed a moveable feast because it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the first fourteenth day of the moon (the Paschal Full Moon) that is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastical spring, or vernal, equinox).

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar. The Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion is generally thought of as a Passover meal, based on the chronology in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7). The Gospel of John, however, speaks of the Jewish elders not wanting to enter the hall of Pilate in order “that they might eat the Passover”, implying that the Passover meal had not yet occurred (John 18:28; John 19:14).^[2] Thus, John places Christ’s death at the time of the slaughter of the Passover lamb, which would put the Last Supper slightly before Passover, on 14 Nisan of the Bible’s Hebrew calendar.^[3] According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, “In fact, the Jewish feast was taken over into the Christian Easter celebration.”

Wielkanoc (Pascha, Niedziela Wielkanocna) – najstarsze i najważniejsze święto chrześcijańskie upamiętniające zmartwychwstanie Jezusa Chrystusa, obchodzone przez wszystkie wyznania chrześcijańskie. Poprzedzający ją tydzień, stanowiący okres wspominania najważniejszych dla wiary chrześcijańskiej wydarzeń, nazywany jest Wielkim Tygodniem. Ostatnie trzy doby tego tygodnia: Wielki Czwartek (wieczór), Wielki Piątek, Wielka Sobota i Niedziela Zmartwychwstania znane są jako Triduum Paschalne (Triduum Paschale). Co prawda każda niedziela jest w chrześcijaństwie pamiątką zmartwychwstania Chrystusa, ale Wielka Niedziela jest pamiątką najbardziej uroczystą.

Podczas soboru nicejskiego w 325 roku ustalono, że będzie się ją obchodzić w pierwszą niedzielę po pierwszej wiosennej pełni Księżyca. Ta skomplikowana zasada jest w istocie przełożeniem na solarny w swej naturze kalendarz juliański konkretnej daty 15 Nisan z religijnego kalendarza hebrajskiego, który jest kalendarzem lunarno-solarnym. Data 15 Nisan wyznacza w kalendarzu hebrajskim początek święta Paschy, wokół którego działy się wydarzenia zbawcze. Wielkanoc jest więc świętem ruchomym: może wypaść najwcześniej 22 marca, zaś najpóźniej 25 kwietnia. Z datą Wielkanocy powiązany jest termin większości ruchomych świąt ogólnochrześcijańskich i katolickich, m.in.: Środa Popielcowa, Wielki Post, Triduum Paschalne, Wniebowstąpienie Pańskie, Zesłanie Ducha Świętego, Boże Ciało i inne. Po wprowadzeniu kalendarza gregoriańskiego znów pojawiły się odmienności: w prawosławiu Wielkanoc obchodzi się bowiem zgodnie z kalendarzem juliańskim. Ostatnio niektóre środowiska chrześcijańskie postulują ustanowienie Wielkanocy, jako święta stałego. Wiemy bowiem dzisiaj, że Jezus mógł zostać ukrzyżowany 7 kwietnia 30 roku, lub – co znacznie mniej prawdopodobne – 3 kwietnia 33 roku. W związku z tym znamy prawdopodobna datę zmartwychwstania, to jest 9 kwietnia 30 roku. Kwestia ta była przedmiotem obrad II Soboru Watykańskiego.

Wielka Niedziela jest pierwszym dniem wielkanocnego okresu świątecznego zwanego oktawą wielkanocną. Okres Wielkanocny rozpoczyna się Wigilią Wielkanocną. Czas Wielkanocnej radości trwa w liturgii 50 dni i kończy się niedzielą Zesłania Ducha Świętego. W 40-tym dniu (czwartek) obchodzona jest uroczystość Wniebowstąpienia Pana Jezusa (Dekretem Kongregacji ds. Kultu Bożego i Dyscypliny Sakramentów z dnia 4 marca 2003 r. katolicy w Polsce od roku 2004 obchodzą święto Wniebowstąpienia w siódmą niedzielę po Wielkanocy).

Z obchodami świąt wielkanocnych związanych jest wiele zwyczajów ludowych (z których część wywodzi się ze starosłowiańskiego święta Jarego): śniadanie wielkanocne, pisanki, święcone, śmigus-dyngus, dziady śmigustne, Rękawka, Emaus, walatka, z kurkiem po dyngusie, Siuda Baba, wieszanie Judasza, pogrzeb żuru i śledzia, pucheroki, palma wielkanocna, Jezusek Palmowy.

Polska Wielkanoc

Święta Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego, zwane też Świętami Wielkanocnymi to najważniejszy moment w rocznym cyklu liturgicznym Kościoła. Zmartwychwstanie Jezusa Chrystusa jest najistotniejszym wydarzeniem, podstawą całego chrześcijaństwa, świadectwem zwycięstwa, triumfu życia nad śmiercią.
Pierwsi chrześcijanie, wywodząc się z wyznawców mozaizmu i z kręgu kultury judaistycznej nie odrzucili żydowskiego układu roku, podzielonego na tygodnie i święta synagogalne.

Największe święto żydowskie – Paschę, uznawali wszyscy za zapowiedź Paschy (Wielkanocy). Społeczność chrześcijańska czciła dzień zmartwychwstania Chrystusa już w najwcześniejszych czasach, przed rozproszeniem apostołów, niosących ewangeliczną naukę do różnych części świata.
Święta Wielkanocne Kościół obchodził już uroczyście w II wieku.
Obchody corocznej pamiątki zmartwychwstania poprzedzone są okresem przygotowań zwanym Wielkim Postem.
Cykl czterdziestodniowego Wielkiego Postu rozpoczyna Środa Popielcowa tzw. Popielec.
Ksiądz w tym dniu posypuje wiernym głowy odrobiną popiołu, uzyskanego ze spalonych ubiegłorocznych gałązek palmowych. Przyjęcie popiołu oznacza pokorne uznanie słabości ludzkiej oraz gotowość wewnętrznego odrodzenia.

Post jest czasem, który ma ułatwić wiernym spotkanie z łaską Boga, uczyć wewnętrznej dyscypliny i opanować pragnienia. W okresie wielkopostnym modlitwa osobista i wspólnotowa przybiera specyficzne formy, związane z męką Jezusa. Kilkaset lat liczy zwyczaj odprawiania nabożeństwa Drogi Krzyżowej. Nabożeństwo to upamiętnia przejście ulicami Jerozolimy Chrystusa niosącego krzyż. Droga Krzyżowa, zwyczajowo odprawiana w piątki, polega na rozważaniu Męki Pańskiej z jednoczesnym przemierzaniem symbolicznej trasy, wytyczonej czternastoma krzyżami obrazującymi poszczególne epizody opisane w Ewangelii.
Temat męki i śmierci Chrystusa podejmują również Gorzkie Żale – nabożeństwo rdzennie polskie, odprawiane w niedziele Wielkiego Postu. Nabożeństwo rozpoczyna pieśń o charakterze pobudki, wzywająca wiernych do głębokiego przeżywania ofiary krzyżowej Jezusa; składa się z trzech części, z których każda zawiera trzy pieśni, wprowadzane krótkim podaniem intencji. Wielki Post to czas, w którym organizowane są rekolekcje i przedstawienia misteryjne.

Ostatni tydzień Wielkiego Postu rozpoczyna Niedziela Palmowa, która przypomina o triumfalnym wjeździe Chrystusa do Jerozolimy. Tego dnia święci się w kościele kupione lub własnoręcznie zrobione palemki wielkanocne. Są to zazwyczaj wierzbowe lub bukszpanowe gałązki, które przyozdabia się kolorowymi, suchymi kwiatkami i wstążeczkami. Dawniej wierzono, że palma wielkanocna będzie chronić ludzi, zwierzęta, domy i pola przed czarami, ogniem i wszelkim złem. W niektórych rejonach Polski do dzisiaj przygotowuje się okazałe, kilkumetrowe palmy. Szczególnie piękne są palmy góralskie i kurpiowskie.

Wielki Tydzień był czasem porządkowania domów ale i własnego wnętrza poprzez liczne posty i umartwienia. Święcono wodę i ogień, przygotowywano jaja wielkanocne. Podczas wielkotygodniowych nabożeństw wierni rozpamiętywali wydarzenia z ostatnich dni życia Chrystusa. Tak dzieje się również dziś.
W Wielki Czwartek milkną dzwony kościelne, by odezwać się ponownie w Wielką Sobotę. W katedrach biskupi święcą w tym dniu oleje, potrzebne przy udzielaniu sakramentu chrztu, bierzmowania i sakramentu chorych. W pozostałych świątyniach odprawiana jest Msza Wieczerzy Pańskiej. Po liturgii Słowa następuje obrzęd obmycia nóg dwunastu chłopcom lub dojrzałym mężczyznom. Odziany na biało kapłan polewa wodą ich stopy i ociera ręcznikiem. Gest ten symbolizuje czynne włączenie się w Bożą miłość i odnosi się do przykazania miłości bliźniego. Liturgia Eucharystyczna Wielkiego Czwartku upamiętnia moment ustanowienia Najświętszego Sakramentu – przeistoczenia chleba i wina w Ciało i Krew Chrystusa. Po uroczystej Komunii świętej wiernych najświętszy Sakrament zostaje przeniesiony do tzw. kaplicy adoracji, a przy tabernakulum gaśnie wieczna lampka.
Dawniej w Wielki Czwartek młodzi chłopcy święcili „topienie Judasza”, czyli słomianą kukłę odzianą w łachy wrzucali do rzeki i ciskali w nią grudami błota i kamieniami. Dziewczęta zaś o zmroku udawały się do najbliższej bieżącej wody by się w niej wykąpać. Wierzono bowiem, że woda w Wielki Czwartek nabierała niezwykłej mocy przysparzania dziewczętom gładkości.

Wielki Piątek poświęcony jest przeżyciom, związanym z męką i śmiercią Chrystusa. W tym dniu obowiązuje wiernych zachowanie ścisłego postu. W Wielki Piątek nie odprawia się Mszy świętej, a odczytuje się wiernym obszerny opis męki Chrystusa, po którym następuje adoracja krzyża. W Wielki Piątek gotuje się jaja na twardo, a później maluje się je, skrobie wzory lub okleja. Takimi pisankami można grać „w bitki”, czyli uderzać swoim jajkiem w jako kolegi. Wygrywa ten, czyje jajko się nie zbije.

W Wielką Sobotę przez cały dzień trwa adoracja Chrystusa złożonego do grobu. Przygotowuje się tego dnia Święconkę, czyli małe porcje pokarmów, które znajdą się później na świątecznym stole. Święconkę włożoną do koszyczka ozdobionego zielonymi listkami i białymi serwetkami zanosi się do kościoła, aby ksiądz pobłogosławił. W wielkanocnej Święconce znaleźć można oczywiście jaja, które są symbolem początku i źródłem życia, chleb, wędlinę, sól, pieprz, czasem ciasto.

Niedziela Wielkanocna jest radosnym, długo oczekiwanym dniem, który spędza się w rodzinnym gronie. Dzień ten rozpoczyna poranna Msza święta zwana Rezurekcją, którą poprzedza uroczysta procesja z Najświętszym Sakramentem wokół kościoła. Po porannej Mszy spożywa się świąteczne śniadanie, w trakcie którego członkowie rodziny składają sobie życzenia, dzieląc się święconym jajkiem. Wśród smakołyków na świątecznym stole nie może zabraknąć wielkanocnych baranków i zajączków wykonanych z cukru, masła lub upieczonych z ciasta oraz wielkanocnych bab i mazurków.

Drugi dzień Świąt czyli Poniedziałek Wielkanocny, zwany także lanym poniedziałkiem przynosi najwięcej śmiechu i zabawy dzieciom. Tego dnia bowiem chłopcy i dziewczęta oblewają się wodą. Ta wielkanocna kąpiel to śmigus-dyngus. Trudno dziś powiedzieć jaki był sens zwyczaju oblewania się wodą. Prawdopodobnie chodziło tu o akt oczyszczenia i wzmocnienia sił rozrodczych. Dlatego w tym dniu pozwólmy chociażby skropić się wodą.

źródła : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/ – http://www.pmkamsterdam.nl/PL/Czytelnia/Wielkanoc.htm – http://abulinka.blox.pl/html