KARACHI: Easter, celebrated in churches throughout the city and elsewhere in the world on Sunday, was a time to rejoice the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Greetings of “Happy Easter!” were exchanged by everyone.

“Good Friday is all about remembering the crucifixion of Jesus Christ but Easter Sunday is our Eid, when we celebrate new life as this is the day when God raised him to life,” said John James, a Catholic devotee heading towards a church for morning services.

Angelic voices in church choirs sang Halleluiah as priests said special prayers after readings from the Bible. At the beautifully decorated with seasonal flowers St Patrick’s Cathedral, Father Mario Rodrigues offered thanks to the Lord for giving strength to all during the season of Lent. Devotees expressed their faith by renewing their promises of rejecting sin in their lives, of rejecting Satan and ill-will.

The sermon included the story of a poor farmer who sees a boulder rolling down from a hill and blocking the narrow path on the side of the hill while preventing anyone from passing through. Many took notice of the situation but didn’t do anything about it. Only the poor farmer thought of the problem it was creating and found an iron rod to push under the boulder and try tipping it over so that people and animals could pass through. With difficulty and without help from the others watching him, he finally did the needful. The boulder then rolled further down the hill to land on an area with a hidden treasure, which it uncovered in the process. The importance of selflessness and helping others was highlighted.

As a security precaution, several yards of the main road leading to the cathedral grounds was closed for vehicles. “Of course, I thought about security in these times when coming to church this morning,” said Margaret Frances coming out of the cathedral. “My heart went dhuk dhuk, too, but its Easter, how could I have stayed away? We have to die one day anyway. If we die here, we’ll be called martyrs,” added the senior citizen.

Meanwhile, hard marzipan Easter eggs stuffed with goodies were the treat of choice at many bakeries across the city. In Christian homes, too, children had painted and decorated hard boiled eggs to display in little baskets with cute Easter bunnies. “Easter is all about celebrating new life, hence the significance of the eggs. And the bunny rabbit, well, it represents fertility, which again brings us back to new life,” said Ms Gonzales, mother of two little ones claiming to be egg craft geniuses.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2015

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