MUMBAI: Forty days of Lenten fasting and penance come to a close on Holy Saturday, setting the stage for Easter, the biggest festival of the Christian calendar. Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave after his crucifixion on Good Friday.
Festivities will begin after Easter Vigil mass Saturday night. The archbishop of Bombay, Oswald Cardinal Gracias will celebrate mass at Holy Name Cathedral, Colaba, at 7.30pm.
The Anglican Church has been hosting elaborate Holy Week rituals at St Thomas Cathedral, Fort. Kamal Jadhav, a member of the pastorate committee, said, "Easter Vigil will be at 8.00 pm with the lighting of the Paschal candle and mass. Easter service at the Cathedral is always packed to capacity, and is conducted with pomp and splendour. The church is decorated with white jasmine flowers to denote purity, and there is a full throated choir under choir master Ravi Joshua."
The Mumbai Mizo Christian Fellowship (MMCF) will put together a beautiful Easter celebration. Vice chairman James Lalremruata said, "On Saturday afternoon, the children and youth will boil eggs, and colour and decorate each one painstakingly to be distributed with the snack after Easter service. Children as little as two and four will sing and dance, and so will their mothers. Each one uses their best talent to praise God. Easter and Christmas are both equally important festivals that bind community ties."
The NGO United Christians of Mumbai received last minute permission for its Easter Eve rally around Nagpada, Byculla, Agripada and Mumbai Central Saturday evening.
