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Easter Celebrated with Much Fanfare All Over the Country

          NEW DELHI: Easter, which signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was celebrated with much fanfare all over the country on 31 March.  Christians attended midnight masses in the early hours of the day to celebrate the festival.

           According to Christian legend, the resurrection of Christ symbolises the victory of good over evil and life over death. At the Sacred Heart church in New Delhi, devotees held candles, sang devotional songs and participated in prayers.

          Easter is traditionally celebrated by visiting graveyards to pay obeisance to the departed souls, attending prayer meetings and participating in some group singing in praise of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon night following the vernal equinox or the first Sunday after Good Friday.

          In Goa, which has a large number of Christian population, Easter was celebrated by observing holy penance, attending solemn masses in churches and taking out processions through the main thoroughfares of the city.

           Talking to ANI, Father Romeo Martins said, "The climax of these three days, of all our festivals, of all our religion, of all our life is Easter, the resurrection of Jesus when Jesus shows us that he has power over death, he has power over sin, he has power over suffering".

           The event occurs at the end of the Lent season, which covers a 46-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. The Lent season is a period of penitence in preparation for Easter, considered the highest festival of the church year. During the whole week preceding Easter, there are lengthy canonical prayers at Churches with readings from the Gospel, Epistles and the Old Testament. People also do a lot of social service.

           Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility and in coloured Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colours to represent spring. These eggs are used in Easter-egg rolling competitions and are given as gifts to family and friends.