Cracking Easter breaks
An eggs-otic break could be just what you need to feel refreshed, if not entirely reborn, writes Lorna Thornber.
Forget boring egg hunts in the backyard. An eggs-otic Easter break could be just what you need to feel renewed, if not reborn. Here are five of the best spots to celebrate the holiday.
East Jerusalem
The Holy Grail of Easter destinations if you’re a believer. During Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday, Christians of all stripes gather in the Holy City. On Good Friday, pilgrims carry wooden crosses along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City, said to contain Christ’s tomb. For many, the day ends with a candlelit vigil in the church, considered the holiest site in Christianity, to meditate on Jesus’ suffering and death.
Holy Saturday brings the celebration of the Holy Fire which, according to the Christian faith, emanates from inside the tomb and ignites nearby candles, spreading light and love. Other Holy Saturday events include a resurrection service in Arabic, with English translation, in the Garden Tomb and a parade of Armenian marching bands with bagpipes and drums. On Easter Sunday, communion is taken on the Mount of Olives.
This isn’t the best year to head to Jerusalem if you’d like to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre though – leaders have locked its doors in protest against a new tax and Israeli law that will allow the government to confiscate land it sells.
Seville, Spain
The Andalusian city’s Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations are among the world’s most spectacular, starring nazarenos (penitents) whose white robes and conical hats incongruously inspired the Ku Klux Clan. From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, elaborate floats representing scenes from the Passion of the Christ are carried along the winding, cobblestone streets to the Unesco-listed cathedral, accompanied by crowds of marching penitents and members of more than 50 brother- and sisterhoods. Bands practise their flamenco-infused hymns for months beforehand.
While an occasion of intense religious devotion for many, Semana Santa is also a huge fiesta, welcoming thousands from around the world. Expect to see entire families, from grannies to babies, packing out the bars until three or four in the morning.
Ubud, Bali
If you’d like to spend the break getting in touch with your spiritual side, consider a trip to Bali. Surrounded by rainforest and rice terraces and dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, Ubud has long been a site of pilgrimage for those seeking spiritual enlightenment or to improve their health and wellbeing. For the past 11 years, the town has hosted the BaliSpirit Festival, a celebration of yoga, mediation, dance, martial arts, alternative therapies and music that draws thousands from around the globe.
Held at arts centre Yayasan Bali Purnati, which organisers describe as a ‘‘lush tropical garden of manicured terraces, cool shade trees and secret wellsprings’’, from April 2-8 this year, the festival features classes in more styles of yoga than I knew existed, health and wellbeing workshops, a healing centre, talks, a kids’ zone and nighttime entertainment that ranges from Peruvian tribal rock, ‘‘devotional medicine music’’, tribal electronica and ecstatic dance sessions. New Zealand’s own Matiu Te Huki, whose soulful roots music has a strong Ma¯ori flavour, is among the musical lineup.