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Printemps et Semaine Sainte en Roussillon

With the arrival of spring, the first chime of St Jacques of the Gardens in Perpignan announces Holy Week. It is around St Jean Cathedral that the ritual is organized. The first step of the procession is to bring out the crucifix to the front of the cathedral, then there is the parade of characters of the Mysteries of the Passion (Mystery of Olives, the crowning with thorns, of Saint Veronica, Christ bearing the cross, the Virgin of sorrows, etc.). All parishes are represented in the parade as the sound of the bell and slow pace of the tragic procession of Sanch winds its way through the maze of the old streets. Spring in Roussillon is also known to be joyful: with the “goigs dels ous” ("songs of eggs"), residents collecting eggs to make the Easter omelet and of course the traditional Catalan “bunyetes” (Catalan pasteries). The film concludes with a Catalan dance: “le bal de cercolets” (the danse of the flower arches).