The Day Before Easter Sunday

Although China is not a Christian nation, Easter is celebrated in Macau. Good Friday and The Day Before Easter are all on the public holiday calendar. In Macau, China, there are many holidays. Ten mandatory holidays along with lots of observances give workers and visitors a reason to celebrate. Easter is the premier holiday in Christian communities. It celebrates the remembrance of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Western cultures it is celebrated with church services, sunrise service, and crosses draped in purple and white. Usually, huge dinners with ham, hot-cross buns, potatoes and more, are enjoyed with the whole family. Since Macau is heavily influenced by Portuguese culture, the celebration has some variations that make it unique in this part of the world. The Christians will meet at Se Cathedral of Macau for a mass service. Statues of Our Lady and Jesus Christ are walked from the church to Senado Square and then back as hundreds of worshipers join along in white or purple robes. Parades and performances are a major part of the Easter celebration for local parishes as well as for tourists. Many people travel to Macau to join in the celebrations, since the religious holiday celebrations have all but disappeared in other areas of China. In the Christian community, visitors will find shops selling chocolates and patisseries like the Portuguese folar (an egg cake). Huge eggs are decorated by the Fuhong Society for the Easter celebration. Volunteers paint eggs with hearts, circles and stripes. Since Macau is a festive place all of the time, expect a celebratory atmosphere. Hotels will put on elaborate buffets, offering traditional and non-traditional foods, as well as magicians, clowns and balloons. Design students in Macau help children to make bunny masks for the celebrations. In Macau, some hotels offer jelly beans for visitors. There are egg hunts, egg-rolling contests, and plenty of chocolate bunnies. Even airports get in on the celebrations, putting up huge Easter Bunny backdrops for photos and decorating the escalators with colourful eggs. The children of Macau do participate in the Western art of dying eggs, too. Come and experience Easter in Macau, whether you are Christian or just want to see how the Christians experience this major holiday. See the majestic shows and elaborate parades. Soak in the celebrations and the mixed cultural elements. Taste the extravagant foods on the buffet, both traditional and non-traditional (like the seafood buffets of Macau). The people of Macau, China, want to let you in on their customs, their beliefs and their celebrations this year.