Easter in Kerala

Easter, the oldest festival of the Christians is celebrated to commemorate the most important tenet of Christianity-The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (the rising of Christ on the third day after the Crucifixion). This sacred day marks the victory of life over death. Originally, the resurrection of Christ happened during the Jewish feast of Passover (known as "Pesach" in Hebrew) and hence in the early epoch of Christianity, Resurrection and Passover were celebrated by the Jewish Christians on the fourteenth day of Nishan, the Jewish month. Later, Easter came to be observed on the Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Easter Sunday concludes with the weeklong reminiscence of the Passion, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Easter is celebrated in Kerala with the same zeal and staidness as it is celebrated all over the world. The merry mood sweeps across the entire state where Christians consist of 23 percent of the state's 32 million population.

Easter in Kerala is marked by four distinct periods commencing with Lent- the 40 preparatory days of fasting and penance for the Resurrection of Christ. Then the Holy Week consisting of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday follows. The third period is observed as the Octave of Easter (the period of traditional Baptism) and finally Easter or the paschal season that extends over 40 days more. On Holy Thursday, the Christians arrange the Lord’s Supper and the customary washing of feet is performed to express and emphasize love for each other. At most Christian houses, the religious ceremony of the paschal bread is carried out. After supper, the 'cross cake’ is cut into pieces, each piece is then dunked into sauce and distributed among all members of the family. Holy Thursday is followed by Good Friday which is observed as the day of sorrow and the Churches remain empty till afternoon. After the services are held in the afternoon in the churches, an acerbic drink made from leaves and vinegar is served to everybody.

Holy Saturday, the next day is the day of lamentation and no services are held in the churches for the entire day .The churches stand in complete solitude. Only at 10 pm at night, people assemble in the churches when the Easter Vigil is celebrated. The gloom and the darkness are driven away from the church by lighting a candle which is then consecrated and consequently numerous candles are lighted to symbolize the Resurrection. The church bells ring in perfect melody reflecting the blissful ambience. The next day – the Easter Sunday is a quiet day without much excitement and jubilations and the celebrations are more spiritually inclined than the outward pomp and glittery shows. It is the time for family get-togethers and visiting the houses of the relatives and neighbors. The most significant meal of the Christians of Kerala on the Easter day is a grand breakfast consisting of appam which is out of rice powder, chicken or mutton stew, steamed bananas and cakes. They have a great feast for dinner. Hallelujah is the merry word of Easter wish.

Last Updated on 26 May 2011