Easter

Here is a picture where thousands of Catholic Haitians took to the streets of Little Haiti during Easter season.

Haitian Easter Celebration & Easter Around The World

In Cuba, the Cuban Christians, in spite of their communist ideology, are far freer to practice their religious faiths. The majority of Cubans are Roman Catholic and about five percent of Cubans are Protestants. There are many churches in Cuba, but you wouldn't see any Easter displays anywhere. It is celebrated in a less publicized way. They call the holiday "Pasqua"(not as Easter), the Spanish word for Passover-- the celebrations are private and faith driven. Most of the believers visit a hilltop near Havana, where the church goes up to celebrate Easter sunrise service.

In Haiti, it is celebrated with a mixture of Catholic and Voodoo traditions. Faith plays a great role in Haitian life. They look to God for every need. The Holy Week is marked by colorful parades and traditional "rara" music is played on bamboo trumpets, maracas, drums and even on coffee cans; the celebration is marked by drumming, chanting and animal sacrifices. They paint their walls and cars in bright colors with the inscription 'merci Jesus!.

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Here is a picture of the cross carrying on God Friday in the streets of Little Haiti in Miami, April, 2015.

The Christian holiday Easter is celebrated with such wonderful rich traditions around the globe, it's fascinating to learn how different Easter traditions can be in different countries (or even within the same country!). In Bermuda, it started when a local teacher from British Army experienced difficulty in explaining Christ's ascension to Heaven. Bermudians celebrate Good Friday by flying home-made kites, eating codfish cakes, and eating hot cross buns. Norwegians celebrate the season through "Easter-Crime" or Paaskekrim. They read crime stories or watch the televised crime detective series on national television. In parts of Northwestern Europe, people lit large bonfires, called Easter Fires. They believe Easter is a time when spring becomes victorious over the winter and the fires were to chase the darkness of winter away. In Sweden, Easter is celebrated with meals of eggs, herring, and Jansson's Temptation (potato, onion and pickled sardines baked in cream). The inhabitants of the Greek island of Corfu, throw clay pots out of their windows.

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Here is a picture of the Cross re-enactment on Good Friday at Notre-Dame Catholic Church in Little Haiti, Miami

How Haitians Celebrate Good Friday

About 80% Haitians follow the Roman Catholic faith. Protestants make up another 16%, 3% practice other religions and 1% Haitians do not follow any religion. Thus, Good Friday is an important day in Haitian calendar. It's customary for Catholics to fast for the day, eating only one full meal that includes fish but absolutely no meat. Although one of the most important parts of the Easter tradition in Haiti is the meal, there are many Haitians who don't eat anything and others only eat bread and water. No one, whether Catholic or Protestant would put red meat on the table on this holy day, because as the myth goes, red meat put on the table would turn into blood. Food is generally served in the noon; people eat rice and fish cooked with white beans and beets root. During dinner time, the boys wander around with their friends, make and fly kites. In some areas, there are contests for the nicest kites or the kites that fly the highest.

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