April was special when I was a child and young teenager. The fair came to Lincoln for a week each April and then again in the autumn. The April fair was the best one though. I lived quite close to the common where it was held, so my sister and I wanted to go every day but of course we were not allowed to. To make up for this we would open the bedroom windows and let the music and atmosphere drift in to make us feel we were there. The fair had everything, loud music (different at every ride), great smells of hot dogs and candyfloss, lots of people particularly boys as we became older and general thrill and excitement. What more could anyone ask for? I think Palm Sunday was possibly something like this experience. Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem to great excitement and jollity. Everyone was having a great time and maybe eating hotdogs and candyfloss, but a few days later it all went pear-shaped! Palm Sunday is the start of Passion Week and during this week every emotion imaginable comes into play. We have companionship edged with sadness on Thursday at the last supper, unimaginable horror at the crucifixion on Good Friday ending with the joy of Easter Sunday. So even though Good Friday is considered one of the worst days of our year, it’s also one of the best. It is good because it leads to an even better day! Without the death of Jesus, we wouldn’t have the resurrection on Easter Sunday and the forgiveness of our wrongdoings. It’s worth just thinking about the origins of Easter as we enjoy extra days off work and the chance of seeing our families to celebrate. Not all countries and faiths have the same traditions. Here chocolate Easter eggs always go down well but the people of Ukraine are predominately Eastern Orthodox Christians, and they paint their eggs red rather than have chocolate ones. As we all think about the problems in Ukraine it is worth taking some time to reflect on how Easter will be for them this year. To see people living through such dreadful times makes us hopefully realise how fortunate we are and pushes us to do what we can even if it is not something practical but holding them in our prayers.
Happy Easter and God Bless
Maureen Kendall