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There are only a few days to Easter now and all over Europe villages, towns and cities will be making plans to celebrate the event in many different ways. Easter is also a time when the holiday season starts to take off and, for many, the two weeks that surround the Easter weekend are a perfect opportunity to fly off for a short family break. Places like the Canary Islands are popular as are the closer islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Corfu.

In Mallorca, processions are held all over the island including places like Santa Catalina and of course Palma. One of the most impressive locations to witness Mallorca's Easter events is on Good Friday in the grounds of the Sant Salvador monastery near Arta, in the north east of the island. The Sanctuary of Sant Salvador sits high up on a small peak, over 500m above sea level, and offers stunning views across the whole island. The buildings there date back to the fourteenth century and monks were still resident there as recently as 1992.

Other Good Friday events can be found in Pollenca and Felanitx. Many small towns and villages hold their main parades of floats on Holy Thursday, so this a good opportunity to venture out into the Mallorcan countryside and experience the friendliness of some of the island's local communities.

Easter in Corfu is a largely traditional affair that draws on the island's appreciation of classical arts to make the occasion very special. The biggest procession of the year in Corfu takes place at Easter in Corfu Town when most of the island's clergy are joined by the Philharmonic Orchestras of Corfu in a parade of the Holy Relic of Saint Spyridon. The Saint who was born in Cyprus and was once a Bishop in a town near Paphos lived his whole life on the island, but his body was taken first to Constantinople and finally Corfu. Oddly, the relic of his right hand resides in Rome though. The islanders are thankful for the Saint's purported role in curing the island of a dangerous plague and of resisting the attacks of Turks in 1716. The large Easter procession starts from the main church in Corfu Town on Palm Sunday at 11am.