We all enjoy the arrival of spring and chocolate eggs, but Michelle Chan asks how many of us know what Easter is really about
East meets west in Hong Kong where people are just as happy to celebrate Christmas as they
are to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Easter too, considered by many to be the most important holiday on the Christian calendar, is now being celebrated beyond the church, becoming one of the most popular holidays in Hong Kong.
With cutout bunnies and chicks all over shopping malls and merchandisers adding shiny chocolate eggs to bring their goods to the attention of customers, it seems the original meanings of Easter have been forgotten.
Easter began as an ancient European festival of spring, celebrated around the time of the equinox. In fact the word Easter comes from the name of the goddess Eastre.
The holiday also takes place around the time Jews celebrate the important feast of the Passover when they were saved from an angel of death. When the Romans adopted Christianity as their religion it was easier for them to select a holiday which was already celebrated by most of the empire. The Christian church uses this time to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.