Ghanaians gear-up for Easter celebration
Ghanaians across the country are gearing up for the celebration of 2012 Easter festivities with expected Christian Conventions, beach jams, concert shows, and other social engagements, Ghana News Agency monitoring on the eve of Good Friday revealed.
Most lorry stations visited including the Neoplan Station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kaneshie, Peki Station near Tema Station and other major commercial parks were heavily loaded with travelers struggling to catch a bus to their destination.
The mainly Christian period for sober reflection on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ has now taken a wider social dimension as the Kwahu Mountains now divert attention from the Church to the National Paragliding Festival site.
The Paragliding festival has become the main magnetism of the Easter festivities as people across the globe troop to the Kwahu Mountains to participate or observe the extraordinary event.
Information available to GNA indicates that pilots from Germany, United States of America, Britain, South Africa and Brazil will participate in this year’s paragliding carnival.
In spite of the National Paragliding challenge to the religious celebration of the season, most Church leaders including the Most Reverend Mathias Kobina Nketsia, Archbishop of Cape Coast Diocese of the Catholic Church tasked all Ghanaians to intensify their prayers during the Easter celebrations.
The Reverend Patrick Tofade, Pastor-in-charge of Aboadze Holy Fire International Church, admonished Ghanaians to look up to the Lord Jesus Christ who had to pass through tribulation in order to bring salvation to all mankind.
At the Accra International Conference Centre on Good Friday, Harvest International Ministries is organising the “Harvest Praise 2012,” with international worship Leader Bob Fitts and the Harvest Gospel Choir to thrill the congregation.
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.
His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day – Good Friday. Easter Saturday referred to as Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday.
Easter is preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance, the last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Maundy Thursday, commemorating Maundy and the Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Easter is followed by a 50-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.
The date of Easter varies between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Christianity based its calculations on the Julian Calendar whose March 21 corresponds, during the 21st century, to April 3 in the Gregorian Calendar, in which calendar their celebration of Easter therefore, varies between April 4 and May 8.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar in many languages, the words for “Easter” and “Passover” are etymologically related or homonymous.
Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs is a common motif.
In the Western world, customs such as egg hunting and the Easter Bunny extend from the domain of the church, and often have a secular character.
Source: GNA