Cheated death lately? Then this weird festival in Spain is for you

24 July 2016 - 02:00 By Elizabeth Sleith
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Elizabeth Sleith looks at the Festival of Near Death Experiences, taking place in Las Nieves next week, where survivors are carried in a coffin procession to give thanks for their resurrection

Thousands  of people who are grateful to be alive will flock to Las Nieves in Spain this week for one of the world's odder festivals.

The Fiesta of Near Death Experiences - officially called the Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme - is held annually on July 29 in this small town in the country's northwest, near the border with Portugal.

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And here's the weird part: those who've had a brush with death in the past year come to ride in a procession of coffins.

The festival honours Santa Marta de Ribarteme, the town's patron saint of resurrection. If you know your Bible, she was Martha, the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back from the dead. She once served Jesus his supper and has a tiny stone church in this town named after her.

During the procession, crowds look on while the family and friends of the survivors make their way through the streets, all dressed for a funeral - and carrying their still-alive loved ones in the coffin they narrowly escaped.

Poignantly, those who have no family or friends to carry them must complete the walk carrying their own coffin.

The procession pauses at the church for a special thanksgiving mass, after which the nearly dead are carried to the town's cemetery, then back down to the church.

At the close of the solemnities, they rise from their coffins to tell the tales of their hairy encounters - but, of course, the day ends with a life-celebrating party.

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