It’s already that time of the year when Christians the world over observe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s a time when Christians are said to experience mixed feelings as they reflect on the purpose for the crucifixion and death of our Saviour Jesus Christ on one hand, and overjoyed about the fact that Jesus arose and ascended into Heaven and is “seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty”.
In other words, Jesus Christ who did no wrong nor sin, was crucified and died because of our sins, is alive. This is the belief that forms the foundation of a Christian’s faith in their religion.
When I was a child. I loved the ‘rituals’ that came with Easter time; the hymns and songs we sung, as children weren’t as mournful or sorrowful. I had (and still have) a favourite one which goes:
1.“It is a thing most wonderful
Almost too wonderful to be
That God’s own Son should come from Heaven
And die to save a child like me”
- At Easter time the Angel said
that Christ had risen from the dead
At Easter time
At Easter time
How glad the World at Easter time
Sorry, but I had to share the two verses of the song I still love till today! Funny enough, Easter wasn’t my favourite season of the year (still isn’t necessarily), but I loved the hymns we had sung as children so, so much. It didn’t feel weighty, rather it made me feel fortunate when I thought of the words of the hymns.
How someone (who knew me, but I hadn’t met them – Jesus Christ) loved me so much that he would die in my stead. As I grew, the weight of the selfless action would be more evident (they say ‘adulting’ is hard…it’s true!) though the songs I loved would still keep me feeling same – loved and fortunate.
I also loved the lingua around the season (wait, did I not say Easter wasn’t necessarily my favourite season of the year? LOL!). The names of the days of the Holy Week, the week preceding Easter fascinated me so! Do you know them? Yes? Ok, and do you know their significance? Shall we do a quick ‘tutorial’ of that?
To begin with, unlike Christmas, Easter isn’t a fixed date on the calendar; it usually falls between (late) March and (early) April in any given year and falls on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon – read up some more on it.
The Holy Week begins with
Palm Sunday – it marks Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem with crowds singing praises and waving palm branches amidst praises of ‘Hosanna’.
Holy Monday & Tuesday; while the Bible is not very clear on what happened on these 2 days, there are still traditional observance of them. On Holy Monday, some Christians observe the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, an event described in John 12:12-19.
On Holy Tuesday, some Christian also observe Christ’s predictions of his own death as seen in John 13:21-38.
Holy Wednesday: also known as ‘Spy Wednesday’ is when the story of Judas arranging his betrayal of Jesus with the chief priests is remembered. Judas was basically being a spy among Jesus’ disciples, hence, the nickname ‘Spy Wednesday’.
Maundy Thursday: is the day of the Last Supper, where Jesus sat with his disciples to what would be his last meal on Earth before his crucifixion and subsequent death. During the meal, Jesus predicted the events that would happen, including his infamous betrayal by Judas, the denial of Peter, his death and resurrection.
Good Friday: the day we commemorate the crucifixion and death of Christ. Often, it’s a solemn and mournful day in church, where one is reflective.
Holy Saturday: It is believed that this was the day Jesus was buried in a cave tomb.
Easter Day: I used to call it Easter Sunday and was always corrected by my parents and teachers; it’s Easter Day – the day of the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. It usually is a celebratory day, and in Ghana, Christians – dressed in their white clothes -would stay in church for what seems like forever, singing praises and hymns of adoration.
Whatever your belief, enjoy the season!
