Coronavirus restrictions easing as Ghanaians prepare for Easter

Christians in Ghana will join the rest of the world to celebrate Easter, a festival that commemorates the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.

The festivity is a three-day celebration that starts on the evening of Thursday with the Last Supper and continues through Good Friday with the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ.

It spans through to ‘Holy Saturday’ and ends with prayers on the evening of ‘Easter Sunday’.

Although the celebration could lose a bit of its taste to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christians across the world would make the best of it, especially as the COVID-19 restrictions and protocol observation eased in some countries.

In Ghana, the festive season is commonly marked with church services, family get-togethers, exchange of gifts, donations to the needy, parties, concerts, and other entertaining events.

Many churches in Ghana hold services on Good Friday often with a drama portraying the suffering, crucifixion, and burial of Christ, and on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

The Presbyterian Church holds a gospel outreach service on Easter Monday, while churches like the Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist Churches hold picnics on Easter Mondays to mobilize the youth as a step to deter them from engaging in risky and unaccepted social behaviors.

The Public Holiday Global website indicates that charismatic churches typically hold large conventions or special Easter retreats and prayer meetings during the festivity and the youth of different denominations often go to “Easter camps.”

One distinct event in Ghana during Easter is the annual celebration at the Kwahu South District of the Eastern Region, where people from all walks of life and nationality throng the Kwahu Hills to celebrate the three-day-long event.

The annual Kwahu festival, popularly known with the slogan, “Kwahu ooo Kwahu,” entails activities such as paragliding, hiking, carnivals, street jams, picnics with lots of food, and performances by various artists.

It also serves as an annual homecoming for the indigenes or natives of Kwahu, and an occasion of celebration for the holiday revelers.

Giving to charity in the form of food or money and throwing Easter parties for orphans, widows, prisoners, and the mentally handicapped is also common in Ghana, especially among benevolent individuals and civil society organizations.

In an interaction with some members of the public, they told the Ghana News Agency that although they are suffering economic hardship, they would mobilize their family at a table for some memorable dinner after attending Church service on Sunday.

Others said the only celebration was to be alive and witness the day, as financially they were not strong to prepare special dishes or visit places of interest.