Religion
How Easter Is Celebrated In 5 Different Countries
Easter, which will be observed on Sunday, April 20, 2025, is one of the oldest and most significant festivals in the Christian calendar. It’s usually a time for reflection and worship and for community, creativity, and celebration that often takes on unique cultural expressions.
In Nigeria and around the world, it marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ, symbolising hope, rebirth, and spiritual renewal. As with many global religious holidays from Palm Sunday to, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and beyond, churches hold vibrant services. But while Nigeria embraces Easter with passionate worship and cultural flavour, other nations bring their traditions to the table, blending history, heritage, and faith in unexpected ways.
Hereunder are how five countries—Nigeria, the USA, Britain, China, and Bermuda—celebrate this sacred season.
Nigeria: Easter is celebrated with a joyful mix of faith and festivity especially since it is usually a public holiday. Many churches organise Good Friday services that reenact the crucifixion, while Easter Sunday services are grand and celebratory, often lasting several hours.
Worshippers come dressed in their Sunday best, filling sanctuaries with colour and songs of victory. Gospel concerts, youth events, and charity outreaches also characteride the season.
Families gather after church service for large home-cooked meals featuring different delicacies and assorted drinks.
Easter Monday is a day of relaxation, picnics, or local excursions. For many Nigerians, Easter is not only a religious occasion but a national moment of joy, bonding, and gratitude.
The United States: Easter has a dual personality in America; one spiritual, the other playful. Adults often observe Lent, a 40-day period of fasting or self-denial that ends on Easter Sunday. Many churches hold sunrise services outdoors, symbolising the empty tomb at dawn. Others host elaborate programs with choirs, sermons, and baptisms.
Children look forward to egg hunts, Easter baskets, and visits from the Easter Bunny. Across towns and cities, parks come alive with families searching for colourful plastic eggs filled with candy or small toys.
At the White House, the Easter Egg Roll is a cherished tradition dating back to 1878, where children roll eggs on the South Lawn in a festive celebration hosted by the First Lady, who is the President’s wife.
Britain: Easter in Britain is deeply rooted in both religious and seasonal customs. It begins on Good Friday, a public holiday when many attend church services. The tradition of eating hot cross buns and sweet spiced rolls marked with a symbolic cross is one beloved tradition in this part of the world. Once reserved for Good Friday, these treats are now enjoyed throughout Lent.
Families engage in Easter egg hunts on Easter Sunday, especially in parks and gardens.
The BBC reports that the Easter Bunny remains familiar to children, while adults may spend the long weekend travelling or enjoying countryside walks.
China: Easter is not a national holiday in China, but it is celebrated by Christian communities, particularly in larger cities where established churches exist. Easter services are vibrant and well-attended at these churches, often accompanied by special music, red decorations reminiscent of Chinese New Year, and the baptism of new believers.
China Highlights reports that Catholic churches in China experience a significant number of baptisms on Easter Sunday—sometimes hundreds at a time.
Bermuda: Families and communities in Bermuda gather on beaches and hilltops to fly handmade kites, often crafted from colourful paper and wooden sticks. According to Bernews.com, this custom originated from a teacher’s attempt to explain Jesus’ ascension to heaven using a kite as a visual aid, and over time, it blossomed into a national tradition.
Bermudians also enjoy hot cross buns following their British heritage, and codfish cakes, a local favourite, especially popular during Lent. While Easter Sunday includes church services and family gatherings, Good Friday steals the spotlight in Bermuda with its joyful, sky-painted symbolism of hope and resurrection.
-Leadership
Residents said the protest was their desperate attempt to draw the attention of the Kwara State Government and security agencies to the worsening security crisis in the community.
Residents of Idofin Odo Ashe community in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State have staged a protest over relentless attacks, killings and kidnappings by terrorists who have reportedly invaded the community, forcing many residents to abandon their homes.
The protest, which involved elderly women, youths and other residents of the community, was held amid growing fear and frustration as locals say insecurity has worsened over the past eight months with little or no intervention from authorities.
During the protest, residents marched through parts of the community carrying placards with various inscriptions highlighting their plight and calling on the government to urgently intervene before the town becomes completely deserted.
Some of the placards read: “End Insecurity in Idofin Odo Ashe, We Sleep In Fear Everyday,” “Idofin Odo Ashe Needs Security, Do Not Abandon Rural Communities,” “We Need Peace, Government of Kwara State Come To Our Aid, Idofin Odo Ashe Is Bleeding,” and “Innocent Souls Are Brutally Murdered In Idofin Odo Ashe, Come To Our Aid.”
Residents said the protest was their desperate attempt to draw the attention of the Kwara State Government and security agencies to the worsening security crisis in the community.
According to eyewitnesses, elderly women and young people in large numbers trooped out to express their anger and fear, lamenting that bandits and kidnappers now operate freely in the area.
One elderly woman who spoke during the protest appealed directly to the state government for urgent intervention, saying the community was gradually becoming deserted due to persistent attacks.
“Kwara State Government, please help us. Our community is becoming deserted,” she cried. “People are leaving Idofin Odo Ashe because bandits killed a young man. We are living in fear every day.”
She said many families had already fled the town while others were preparing to leave if the situation continued.
Another protester who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday said kidnappers had been operating almost daily in the community for about eight months, attacking residents without resistance.
The protester said, “We citizens are calling on the Government of Kwara State and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to help stop the terrorists and the daily killings and kidnappings of our people.”
He added that the situation had reached a dangerous level as criminals were now operating freely.
“Kidnappers strike Idofin Odo Ashe almost every day. For about eight months now, they have been killing and kidnapping people freely,” the protester said.
“The citizens are running away from the town. The situation is very pathetic.”
Residents warned that if urgent action is not taken by the government and security agencies, Idofin Odo Ashe and neighbouring communities could soon become completely deserted as people continue to flee for safety.
They called on the Kwara State Government and federal security authorities to immediately deploy adequate security personnel to the community and surrounding areas to halt the activities of terrorists and kidnappers threatening their lives and livelihoods.
-Sahara
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Washington and Iran engaged in what he described as “productive” peace discussions over the weekend aimed at ending ongoing hostilities.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that he has ordered a temporary suspension of planned military strikes on Iranian power infrastructure.
He further disclosed that, based on these engagements, he had instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, contingent on the success of the ongoing discussions.
The development follows heightened weekend rhetoric, when Trump warned that the US military would “obliterate” Iran’s power facilities if Tehran failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours—a strategic waterway vital for global oil shipments.
The latest pause in military action comes amid global concerns over the potential economic fallout of escalating tensions in the US-Iran conflict, particularly its impact on oil prices and inflation.
-Leadership
Residents of Iboropa Akoko in Akoko North-East local government area of Ondo State have been thrown into panic as a 21-year-old man, identified as Alabi Anthony, allegedly raped and killed an elderly woman.
The incident has also thrown the community into mourning, with the residents expressing shock and outrage over the gruesome development in the otherwise quiet area.
Following credible intelligence, operatives of the Ondo State Police Command launched an investigation, which led to the tracking of the deceased’s missing phone and the subsequent arrest of the suspect.
Confirming the development, the police spokesperson, Abayomi Jimoh, said the suspect confessed to the crime, admitting to having carnal knowledge of the victim before allegedly strangling her.
“Following credible intelligence, detectives promptly launched an investigation, which led to the tracking of the deceased’s missing phone and the subsequent arrest of the suspect. The suspect has confessed to the crime, admitting to having carnal knowledge of the victim and thereafter strangling her to death.
“The Command condemns this heinous and inhumane act and assures the public that justice will be diligently pursued. The case has been transferred to Headquarters, Akure, for further discreet investigation and prosecution.”
Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP gathered that tension heightened in the community when police officers returned the suspect to the area to identify the crime scene, attracting a large crowd of residents.
Angry youths were said to have gathered at the scene, but security operatives quickly intervened to prevent a breakdown of law and order, swiftly moving the suspect away from the crowd.
-Leadership
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