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     without for over forty days. People ate a lot of eggs. It was believed 
     
     that when the sun rose Easter morning it danced, and that spring 
     
     water collected before sunrise had medicinal qualities. 
     
    

    
     The month of May is a very important month for Catholics since 
     
     it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This was particularly true for the 
     
     Acadians who attended church every evening and said prayers for the 
     
     month of Mary. People who were unable to get to church easily set 
     
     up a small altar at home in honour of the Virgin. A statue of the 
     
     Madonna or else a large portrait surrounded by greenery, flowers and 
     
     candles was placed in a prominent position on the altar where the 
     
     family would gather in the evening for the rosary and perhaps to sing 
     
     hymns such as “Tis Mary’s month, the finest month” (TR) (“C’est le 
     
     mois de Marie, c’est le moi le plus beau”). 
     
    

    
     Corpus Christi, a solemn ceremony in honour of the Holy Sacra- 
     
     ment, took place towards the end of May or in June. It marked the 
     
     occasion of the most impressive religious event of the year and one 
     
     of the most spectacular pageants. A large procession was formed out- 
     
     side the church after High Mass. Children, members of the choir, altar 
     
     boys and members of various parish societies, each following behind 
     
     its respective banner, all took part in the procession. The priest, 
     
     walking under a dais, carried the monstrance containing the Holy 
     
     Sacrament. He was preceded by a group of young girls, dressed entirely 
     
     in white, who scattered the route with flower petals or confetti. The 
     
     route was marked with flags and the procession stopped to pray at 
     
     several wayside altars. To mark the occasion, people often sported 
     
     new clothes for the first time. In short, it was the outing of the year. 
     
    

    
     The blessing of the fleet was a very popular and picturesque 
     
     ceremony which was normally held on the Sunday before the opening 
     
     of the lobster season. Fishermen and their families went by boat to 
     
     where the blessing was to take place and where they would be met 
     
     by the priest, accompanied by several altar boys and a number of 
     
     cantors. The people who were not able to be on the boats gathered 
     
     on the shore to watch the ceremony. 
     
    

    
     The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the Acadians’ feast day 
     
     on August 15, often gave rise to spectacular celebrations attended by 
     
     thousands of people who came from all over the province and from 
     
     elsewhere. The festivities began with religious ceremonies and ended, 
     
     as we have seen, with a picnic in aid of a parish project.