A Few Facts about the Easter Riders

In the Sorbian Catholic parishes of Upper Lusatia there are nine Easter processions and it is predominantly Sorbs who ride in them. Only in the Wittichenau procession has there been, since the beginning of last century, a German-speaking section. The Easter Riders sing hymns proclaiming the resurrection of Christ. Between villages they say the Rosary or the Litany. In the procession they carry the Cross, church banners, and a statue of the Risen Christ.

The Riders are in celebratory attire and the horses too are dressed in a special way. They wear their Easter harness and a brightly embroidered bow on the tail. If the bow is black, it signifiies mourning in the rider's family. The Easter Riders ride round their church and their churchyard, where they proclaim the resurrection and pray for the souls of the departed. A rider who is taking part for the first time wears a little garland of myrtle. On silver and golden jubilees the rider may wear a silver >>25<< or a golden >>50<<. In 1995 a total of 1,398 Easter Riders rode in the processions.