BENGALURU: As the spring season blossoms, blanketing the city with the pink hues of pau d’arco trees, Christians are preparing for one of the most significant events of the year – Easter Sunday. A celebration of Christ’s resurrection, the festival represents a fresh start. But it’s not just Bengalureans who are looking forward to Easter Sunday, but a diverse community of foreign residents who have come to call Bengaluru their home over the years.
Elizabeth Bowden-David grew up in the United States and has always associated the festival with a sunrise outdoor church service. Having lived in Bengaluru for nearly two decades now, she is planning a special outdoor celebration. “Growing up, I came to associate the holiday with very early mornings. This year, I am doing something special by going on an early morning bird-watching tour in Lalbagh. Easter has a strong association with springtime flowers and birds, so this seems a fitting way to celebrate,” she says, adding that she finds a connection between Easter and the Hindu spring festival Ugadi, given certain similarities between the two. “They occur around the same time and both are about new beginnings. So with Ugadi, the pink flowered trees, and Easter, I think of it all as a season of fresh starts. I also put lilies in vases in my home, as they symbolise the holiday and have a beautiful aroma,” she adds.
Easter traditions vary across the globe, but among the most popular traditions is the hunt for Easter eggs. Symbolising fertility and new life, the eggs are colourfully decorated and are filled with sweets – most often with chocolate. Bea Renninger, a German protestant who has called Bengaluru her home for the last seven years is fond of the tradition. “Just like Christmas, Easter is very important for me. My brother is coming from Germany and we’re planning a small get-together, with brunch and Easter egg hunts,” she shares.
After moving to the city, Renninger has had to make a few changes to the way she celebrates the festival. Not attending church service is one of them. “Our church is quite far from my home, so, unfortunately, we’ve started to skip service on Easter. The dyes we use to decorate the eggs are also not easily available here, we source them from back home. Easter is also not very big here. Back in Germany, we have holidays on both Good Friday and Easter Monday, but not here. Apart from that, the way we celebrate the festival hasn’t changed much,” she adds.
Similarly, chef Aurelie Lalande, who runs a traditional French desserts and quiches boutique in the city shares that some of the traditional Easter foods are hard to find in Bengaluru. “Back in France, chocolate is quite big during Easter. From eggs to figurines, everything is made with chocolate. However, chocolate figurines are hard to come by in Bengaluru,” she says.