Christians all over the world and members of other faiths enthusiastically welcomed Easter holiday. The holiday is a time when individual and families make the most of the time for merry-making. While some people use the long holiday to travel, others use the festive season to go for prayers, visit beaches, museums, night clubs, and zoos, among other happening places. Sharon Kantengwa highlights some of the ways one can enjoy the holiday and make the most of it.

Attend mass service

Easter presents us all a very rare opportunity to reflect on our lives and ensure that where we have faltered, we can get back on our feet and align lives with the life Jesus wants us to live. Attend service or mass at any of the many churches around you and use this time to strengthen your spirituality, but also learn about the death and resurrection story of Jesus.

Organise a party at home

Easter season sometimes gets people trapped inside their homes because they cannot travel as it is a short holiday. If you are one of them, you can make the best of this season by celebrating with friends and family over good food, barbecues or meat roasting. If you are on shoe string budget, you can request your guests to contribute towards the food and drinks. Come up with fun activities to spice up the celebration, for instance storytelling, dance competitions or games that center around the death and resurrection of Christ, they can be both entertaining and educative.

There are lots of fun activities in Kigali that one can enjoy like archery. 

Watch movies

Buy a collection of movies and watch them the entire Easter season to your satisfaction, a great option for introverts. Alternatively, go to Century Cinemas and choose from the great a lineup of movies you can enjoy.

Easter Celebration Concert

Local gospel artiste Patient Bizimana will today stage Easter Celebration 2019, Regional Chapter at the Expo grounds in Gikondo. The show is expected to attract full house, as it does every year, this time round hosting famous Congolese gospel singer Alka Mbumba known from his praise song Fanda Nayo, to headline the event. Other performance acts will include, Redemption Voice from Burundi, Gaby Kamanzi, Healing Worship Team, Shekinah Worship Team ERC Masoro and the host Patient Bizimana. If you are Christian or love gospel music, the concert will be a fun way to celebrate with family and friends.

Celebrate Easter brunch with family and friends. Net photo.

Easter Kids Festival

The children, this Easter season, are also catered for with a festival hosted by the Spiderman Game Center in Masaka. Lots of fun activities are lined up for them including Easter movie, treasure hunt games, a talent show, comedy and much more. The festival began Friday and goes on till Monday, tomorrow, so you can use the opportunity to bond with your children, young nephews, cousins or siblings while they have fun.

Travel

If you love travel, this season is the perfect time to tour the country. There are lots of exciting places to see such as Nyungwe forest, Akagera National Park, Lake Kivu and Mount Bisoke. You can also organise with friends for a tour of the city with the new Kigali city sightseeing double decker bus. However, as you drive upcountry, it is important that you keep and observe a number of road safety tips to and from your destination.

Gospel singer Patient Bizimana will host the easter celebration concert today.

Celebrate with the needy and sick

What would Jesus do? Reach out to the poor, needy, sick and vulnerable. While the world is using this holiday to bond and have some fun, these people might not have the chance to enjoy the season. If you are into charity, or looking for a way to practice your faith, pack food, clothes, or money- even if little and extend a hand to your poor neighbours or the sick. The love and little contributions you share, may seem a drop in an ocean but will make a huge difference to the lives of these people.

Children can have fun at the Spiderman Games Centre. 

Enjoy Easter Brunch

Many people love to have brunch on Easter Sunday. For some families it is a tradition of hosting and celebrating Easter brunch together. You can make the most of fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and of course, eggs to fit into your thematic Easter meals. Some hotels such as the Kigali Marriot Hotel have organised special treats as well for you and family to enjoy.

Go for sports

Use this time to enjoy your favourite sport – football, netball, basketball, swimming etc. It will relieve you of your work stress as well as give you chance to meet new people and catch up with old friends. Alternatively, you could use the evenings to have a simple walk and get to know your neighbourhood and take in the fresh air breeze.

Engage in fun activities

There are lots of fun activities around, to engage in such as bowling, at Mamba Club, ziplining, archery, badminton and horse rides at Fazenda Sengha. A picnic with friends could also be a great idea. Go to beaches, gardens or any place with a great scenery and spend your day there. Have different games, stories and take pictures for memories sake.

Sometimes you cannot read your favourite book because of too much work, use this holiday to complete  it and jump onto the next one.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com