Dubai Christian expatriates from different nationalities ushered in Easter today with piety and warmth. Churches across Dubai held special services on the eve of Easter and thousands of expatriates attended those. The Saint Mary’s Church had Mass organised in quick sessions round the clock.
Christians celebrate Easter — the Resurrection of Christ — with great gaiety and special family bonding, especially since the 40 days of Lent that precede Easter are observed with strict abstinence and are a proof of a true Christian’s discipline and steadfastness of belief where the pious abstain from meat and alcohol for those days.
“Easter in many ways is more important to us than Christmas because we believe Jesus Christ died for us and his resurrection was to save us. Most pious Christians believe in observing 40 days of Lent prior to Easter where we give up meat and also try and sacrifice some routine dear to us. Today is a time when there is a lot of love and bonding in my family. Every year we have a family lunch at my brother’s place in Al Warqa where all the cousins converge. We have a pot pourri meal that amply displays camaraderie and bonhomie. My children look forward to this meal every year,” says Gail D’souza a mother of two from India.
Memory
For Sarah Allsop, a real estate agent, who is single and lives in Dubai, Easter is a far off memory of happy times that she spent with her family in the UK. “Back home Easter is a time for a lavish dinner with the entire family. It is a great get together and we appreciate our love for each other. Unfortunately, this Easter, I am at work. However, I look forward to making a roast dinner for myself to mark the occasion.”
This year Renuka Ratnayake, a banker from Sri Lanka has invited her mother to spend Easter with her family. “My three daughters are so happy to have their grandmother. They have painted Easter eggs and made Easter bunnies. We usually spend the eve of Easter at the Church at a long service and today attend a mass followed by a lavish traditional Sri Lankan lunch. It is a real feast that comes after 40 days of non-meat meals and today I definitely have hot and spicy chicken and meat curries, roast potato and a special brinjal curry coupled with steamed Sri Lankan rice and a sweet yoghurt desert to round off the celebration and temper the spices.
