So as it is known, Easter started with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is believed that Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Easter marks the end of the 40-day fasting period called Lent. Every year, Easter Sunday falls on a different date in April. This year Easter Sunday falls on the 5th April 2015.
But just before Easter Sunday is Good Friday; the day that Christ died. Therefore Good Friday is observed as a day for mourning. On Easter Sunday, Christian communities usually attend church services and exchange greetings and gifts. These communities in some parts of South Asia observe Easter in the same way.
What about in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan? Christian communities celebrate Easter at the churches in Lahore and Karachi. According to a report from last year’s Easter, Christian communities sung Easter songs and they prayed for the country’s solidarity and prosperity. In some cases, churches in Pakistan had security arranged.
In earlier years, churches in Pakistan have been unfortunately bombed on Easter Sunday. Not many innocent Christians would have survived. Apparently in 2011, Christians in Gojra, a small town in Pakistan, celebrated a low-key Easter day in fear of getting attacked. An owner of a small snooker hall in Gojra, Khalid Anjum said: “If we celebrate [Easter] with a fanfare, we fear somebody might get annoyed and attack us.”
Reports claimed that Christians in Pakistan are denied the dignity of human beings. Christians in Kasur, in Pakistan, suffer abuse and ill-treatment. Christian men and women are unnecessarily abused, mocked, hit and publicly humiliated. It’s claimed that Christian residents, in Pakistan, expressed their situation about what happened to them during Easter periods. They said: “some police officers also raided our house along with Muslim owners and threatened us to get involved in a criminal case.”
On the 15th March 2015, both the BBC and CNN reported a death toll of 14 people from the Christian communities in Pakistan and near its churches. As the days begin to get closer to Easter, Christian communities in Pakistan feel more vulnerable. These communities are victimised in nearly every way. They feel they are not protected.
Life doesn’t look dangerous for the Christian communities in India. Only some parts in India, probably will celebrate Easter. Christian communities in Goa tend to celebrate Easter in a big way. Shops will be decorated with Easter eggs and bunnies. Also in Goa, Christian communities have a big feast on the Thursday just before Good Friday, to symbolise Christ’s last supper.
This year, Easter day, for Christian communities falls in the same period as the Hindu religious celebrations. So some people in India probably will get busy and celebrate Poornima, Buddh Jayanti and celebrate the end of Chaitra Navratri.
However, Christian communities probably will be preparing for Easter. While the common Easter eggs in baskets, bunnies and hot cross buns symbolise Easter, there are a few unusual things that symbolise Easter too. These are: lambs as this is a traditional meat that is served on Easter, white lilies as these are used to decorate churches and symbolise purity, peace, rebirth and hope. Some Christians probably will wear new clothes for the whole of the Easter week.
With all this in mind, will there be peace for the Christian communities in Pakistan? Will this community soon see the light at the end of the tunnel? Will the prayers of hope be heard for their better future?
