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News Out&AboutApril 14, 2017April 14, 2017

World’s biggest Easter egg

Weighing in at over four tons, a contender for the world’s largest Easter egg was unveiled to a crowd of chocolate lovers in Argentina.

Twenty-seven bakeries worked for two weeks to make enough chocolate for the gargantuan concoction wheeled into the Chocolate Festival in Bariloche.

Towering over 27ft high (8.5m) and 16ft wide (5m), the sweet treat required a reported 8,800lbs (8,000kgs) of chocolate, hovering over a sea of spectators who gathered for a taste.World’s biggest Easter egg. A large number of chefs from the local association of chocolate makers, an organization which brings together about 18 local producers, worked to create the massive egg.

Bariloche is renowned for its local tourism offerings, beautiful landscape, and tradition of chocolate production.

Out&AboutApril 14, 2017April 14, 2017

Easter symbols

Many cherished Easter traditions have been around for centuries though you won’t find them in the Bible. The most prominent symbol of the Christian holiday is the Easter bunny that was introduced to America by the German immigrants. They brought over their stories of an egg-laying hare. The decoration of eggs is believed to date back to at least the 13th century, while the rite of the Easter parade has even older roots. Other traditions, such as the consumption of Easter candy, are among the modern additions to the celebration of this early springtime holiday.

EASTER BUNNY

The Easter bunny has become a prominent symbol of Christianity’s most important holiday. The exact origins of this mythical mammal are unclear, but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the U.S. and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Additionally, children often left out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping.

EASTER EGGS

Usually used as gifts on the occasion of Easter or springtime celebration. The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.

Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular egg-related traditions. In the U.S., the White House Easter Egg Roll, a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn, is an annual event held the Monday after Easter. The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878 when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. The event has no religious significance, although some people have considered egg rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus’ tomb being rolled away, leading to his resurrection.

EASTER CANDY

Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, after Halloween. Among the most popular sweet treats associated with this day are chocolate eggs, which date back to early 19th century Europe. Eggs have long been associated with Easter as a symbol of new life and Jesus’ resurrection. Another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became associated with Easter in the 1930s (although the jelly bean’s origins reportedly date all the way back to a Biblical-era concoction called a Turkish Delight). According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year for Easter, enough to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide. For the past decade, the top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy has been the marshmallow Peep, a sugary, pastel-colored confection. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer Just Born (founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born in 1923) began selling Peeps in the 1950s. The original Peeps were handmade, marshmallow-flavored yellow chicks, but other shapes and flavors were later introduced, including chocolate mousse bunnies.

News Out&AboutApril 14, 2017April 14, 2017

All you need to know about Easter

EASTER is just around the corner – and millions of people around the world are gearing up to celebrate this important day of the Christian calendar. Easter Sunday celebrates Christ’s resurrection from the dead, following the crucifixion. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year.

Where did the word “Easter” come from?

The exact origins of this religious feast day’s name are unknown. Some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomad alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.

What happened on this day?

Easter Sunday is a happy day for Christians all over the world, as they believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that this resurrection symbolizes that death is not the end. The Sunday after his death Mary Magdalene visited the tomb and found that not only had the stone been moved, but the body of Jesus was not there anymore.

Jesus was seen later that day by Mary, and other disciples and for forty days by many others.

The actual word “Easter” does not appear in the Bible and there aren’t any early church celebrations mentioned. It appears that Easter, like Christmas, developed later in church history.

Did You Know?

Over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made each year.

How is it celebrated?

Many Christians will go to church for a special Easter sermon and later exchange Easter eggs.

What is the golden number?

Readers often ask about the Golden Number which is used in calculations for determining the date of Easter. It’s a number in the 19-year cycle of the Moon. (The Moon repeats the dates of its phases approximately every 19 years.)

Add 1 to any given year and divide the result by 19; the remainder is the Golden Number. If there is no remainder, the Golden Number is 19.

What do you eat on Easter?

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday. A Hot Cross Bun is rich, spiced tea cake.
Boiled eggs are traditionally served at breakfast.
Roast lamb, which is the main dish at Jewish Passover, is the traditional meat for the main meal on Easter Day.
Simnel cake is baked for tea.
Simnel cake.
Easter Biscuits.

Bosnia and Herzegovina PlacesApril 11, 2017April 11, 2017

The Mepas Mall in Mostar

This summer Balkan`s hottest emerging destination was the city of Mostar, situated on the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alongside the many historical sites and beautiful architecture, this city also offers shopping malls for fashion lovers.

The Mepas Mall is the biggest shopping center in the region of Herzegovina that has the surface of 100.000 m². It is located at the crossroads of the street of Kardinal Stepinac and streets of Kneza Višeslava. As one of the most attractive locations in the center of Mostar, there are 3 level underground garage with 605 parking spaces, 7 above ground level, two floors of the hotel level, 4 panoramic elevators, and 5 cinemas.

This is the place where you can find leading high street brands like Zara, New Yorker, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Benetton, Adidas and much more.

There are also lots of entertaining activities. Enjoy blockbusters and 3D projections in Cinestar movie theater, bowling or game of pool in the Bowling center, while the kids can spend time in good entertainment and sports activities in the playroom “Jungle”.

In case you have missed it, read our previous post – 5 Ways To Stay Upbeat On An Overcast Day in Mostar.

All of the food lovers can enjoy delicious treats at Restaurant Prestige.

This restaurant is located on the 4th floor in the Mepas Mall. The customers love to praise the chocolate soufflé dessert, lots of meals from Italian cuisine and also regional meals such as sheepskin cheese, Livanjski cheese, Herzegovinian prosciutto and Herzegovinian doughnuts.

Families with children can enjoy lunch at Prestige while the kids are well taken care of at the nearby children’s playroom Jungle.

In case you have missed it, read our previous post – Top 3 family restaurants in Mostar.

Holiday Travel My Bosnian Passport Travels EverywhereApril 10, 2017April 10, 2017

Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and St. Florian in Warsaw, Poland

Located at ul. Florianska 3 in eastern Warsaw, The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian a Catholic church and historical landmark that you need to visit while in this beautiful city.

Construction of this Gothic Revival architectural monument started in 1897 and it took 7 years to be completed.Gothic Revival architecture was to remain one of the most popular and long-lived of the Gothic Revival styles of architecture in Europe.

If you visit this cathedral you will find architectural elements such as pointed arches and steeply roofs and fancy carvings like lace ant lattice work were applied.

The 75-meter towers of St. Florian’s Cathedral dominate eastern Warsaw’s Praga district. These towers highlight the cathedral’s role as a form of protest against the Russian invasion of Poland.

During the World War II St. Florian’s was destroyed by the Germans but by the 1950s a reconstruction slowly began and St. Florian’s was reopened in 1972. Today people name this church as “Praga’s cathedral”.

Polish people are religious. During my visit, there were a lot of people praying together. There is a truth in this kind of architecture. While you are in Warsaw do no waste your time. Go and visit this cathedral. Pray for yourself. Pray for others!