Focus: Easter around the world

Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar. Around the world Christians celebrate the resurrection of Juses Christ, but in different ways. Here, we look at how Rwandans, Canadians, Ugandans and Brits mark the occasion. Easter in Rwanda Paul Karangwa Christians celebrate Easter Sunday because they believe, Jesus died for their sins on the cross on Good Friday. On Easter day many Rwandans are dressed up in traditional Rwandan clothes and go in the churches where they spend time praying to their Lord. On Easter all students tend to be off school. After church services, people go for a fantastic lunch where they share the traditional foods. Easter in Canada Stephanie Carmichael Easter in Canada is one of the few times you can count on having a full church. But in this country of cold winters and hot maple syrup, Easter has come to mean so much more to most families than just a Sunday trip to church. No Easter in Canada is complete without the traditional Easter egg decoration party, where families and children get together to adorn empty egg shells with stickers, dye, paint, and anything else their creative minds can conjure up. The decorated eggs are then displayed throughout homes and schools. The Easter egg hunt is another hallmark of Easter in Canada. Kids wake up at the crack of dawn to go hunting throughout their houses for chocolate Easter eggs that were hidden by the Easter Bunny during the night before. After mattresses have been overturned and shelves ravaged through, children happily devour their chocolate conquests. In Quebec, Easter is a particularly festive time of year thanks to the large Winter Carnival. Here, skating and tobogganing are accompanied by a parade that continues to make thousands of Canadians withstand the bitter cold just to catch a glimpse of the famous life-sized snowman, Bonhomme de Neige. The Carnival also hosts the country’s most celebrated ice sculpture display. Hot-cross buns are the most popular food of choice during Easter, especially on Good Friday. These are sweet, spiced buns made with currants and topped with icing in the form of a cross, which is meant to symbolize the crucifixion. And, for those who are willing to make the trek to Vegreville, Alberta, they’ll find themselves in the home of the largest Easter egg in the world. Standing nine metres tall, the egg was built in 1974 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Easter in Uganda Eddie Mukaaya Uganda just like any other Christian country celebrates Easter, however, the difference from other countries lies within the style or magnitude of celebration. The whole week after Palm Sunday is marvelous for businesses as Christians do a lot of shopping in preparation for Easter. The streets are jammed with pedestrians and goods. Many leave town to the village to honour the day aside their parents. Celebrations begin as early as Good Friday with bars, cinemas and other entertainment venues fill up as people begin a long weekend off work. Saturday is characterised by more shopping while cows, goats, pigs and hens are slaughtered. On Easter day, churches are full to capacity since almost all Christians attend Mass. By noon, Christians are heading home with family and friends for a fine feast. The evening of Easter is always lively. After a long weekend of revelry, many are in high spirits. By the end of the weekend, it is hangover verses accountability for many. Easter in Britain Kitty Liewellyn The British have gone Easter crazy. Like so many other religious festivals, Easter has been seized by card manufacturers and confectionary companies. It has been commercialised. In an increasingly multicultural and secularised society, the true meaning of Easter is being lost amongst yet another grotesque spending opportunity. In a recent World Vision survey, when asked what respondents most associate with Easter, nearly half said chocolate eggs, and only a quarter said Christianity. But it’s not all doom and gloom, and for some (myself included) Easter remains the most important festival of the year. In spring Britain is at its most beautiful. Wild daffodils (bright yellow flowers) bloom in abundance, the sun (believe it or not) shines and new born lambs skip about our fields. The four day Easter holiday is an opportunity for people to take time off and for families to come together. Easter day is about rare church visits and Easter egg hunts for children, it’s about lavish feasts and the giving of gifts. While for many the true meaning of Easter may have been forgotten, the British continue to embrace the festival with a fervor that itself seems to resemble some of the joy of Christianity. Ends