Everything you wanted to know about Easter

For God knows how long, this time of the year has constituted of people bombarding me with questions relating to various aspects of a particular Christian holiday, especially in regards to Bangladesh. I'm talking about "Easter Sunday".

I guess this obliviousness is due to the fact that Easter Sunday is not a public holiday in our country. It is also not as popular in movies and TV shows as Christmas. Thus, I often find myself explaining its meaning, significance, and finally the celebrations to my friends every year. This year, I decided to share it with a wider range of people through this article.

Easter signifies the ressurection of Jesus which is a long story in itself and I won't delve into it right now. It officially starts with Lent (a time of repenting for our sins and fasting), which starts on Ash Wednesday, 46 days prior to Easter Sunday. However, the core constitutes of a four-day religious event, the first of which starts on the Thursday preceding Easter Sunday. Each of these consecutive days consist of us going to church and celebrating the different daily events. The four days are called Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and finally, Easter Sunday.

Of these four days, the Thursday signifies the Last Supper which Jesus had with his apostles. This was famously portrayed in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, appropriately titled "The Last Supper". Good Friday signifies a sad day as it commemorates the crucifiction of Jesus Christ. We hold out a half-day fast and abstain from meat and fish for the rest of the day. It is, however, called "good" signifying the belief that this act of sacrifice frees us from all our sins. Finally, the main celebration starts from Holy Saturday when the clock strikes 12 at night and people gather at church to celebrate the ressurection of Christ.

Moving to Easter Sunday, we celebrate it much like how our non-Christian friends celebrate Eid, Puja, etc. We start off the day at church, attending the early morning mass. Then we go out wearing newly-made attire for Easter and spend the rest of the day with our loved ones. This year we'll have Easter Sunday on April 1.

There are, however, some traditions only coupled with Easter, one of which is the concept of Easter Eggs. Although initially popularised in the western world, decorated Easter Eggs – i.e. empty egg shells (signifying the empty tomb from where Jesus ressurected) – stuffed with/made of chocolate are usually gifted to kids.

To summarise, Easter is a celebration of sacrifice and togetherness. It reminds us of the sacrifices made to get us where we are and help us appreciate all that we possess. It is a time to be forgiving to those who have wronged us and be grateful to those who have stuck around, all the while giving something back to those who aren't fortunate enough.

All in all, Easter is a time to find the best version of yourself and embrace that for the rest of the year.

Veronica Gomes is a socially awkward sophomore. Feel free to trigger awkward encounters by reaching out to her at gomesveronica1997@gmail.com