As the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday approached, parishioners of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Xiantao city, in China’s Hebei province, were alarmed by the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers.
Xiantao, some 100 kilometres from the provincial capital Wuhan, where the first human infections from the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were detected in late 2019, was mostly lifeless at Easter last year due to a strict lockdown to stem the invisible enemy that has claimed some three million lives globally.
Authorities gradually lifted restrictions following the decline of new cases and deaths across China, while nations in other parts of the world continue to grapple with the contagion.
Life in many parts of China has returned to normal and so Christians flocked to churches in droves to celebrate Holy Week and Easter Sunday.
Many in Xiantao joined in setting off fireworks and firecrackers before joining the Easter Vigil in the church, though their actions had nothing to do with Easter, but were related to the traditional Qing Ming festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, which coincided with Easter Sunday this year.
The Qing Ming festival is a memorial celebration to honour ancestors. It is believed to be more than 2,000 years old and is observed by Chinese across mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
This year about 1.5 million Chinese travelled by air for the three-day holiday for the festival that started on April 3, the South China Morning Post reported.
Ahead of the festival, families clean, sweep and decorate graves and gather to prayer and pay respects to their ancestors by making ritual offerings including flowers and homemade dishes. Firecrackers are set off to mark the end of darkness and return of liveliness while casting away evil spirits.
One year after the shock of China being hit by the pandemic, the coincidental overlap of Tomb Sweeping Day and Easter Sunday seemed to carry its own meaning. People of various traditions were celebrating on the same weekend in China, a remembering of special people and important events in previous times, all combined with the celebration of how such remembering leads to new life in our own time
In Xiantao, Christians combined the spirit of Easter with reverence to ancestors, the Independent Catholic News reported.
“One year after the shock of China being hit by the pandemic, the coincidental overlap of Tomb Sweeping Day and Easter Sunday seemed to carry its own meaning. People of various traditions were celebrating on the same weekend in China, a remembering of special people and important events in previous times, all combined with the celebration of how such remembering leads to new life in our own time,” it commented.
Two priests who oversee the parish had to balance their commitments to people during the weekend as they promised to visit and bless tombs in nearby cemeteries and celebrate the Easter Vigil.
On Holy Saturday, the church was filled to capacity and the faithful lit their candles with the flame from a large Paschal candle before pronouncing their baptismal vows. As the liturgy ended, they collected holy water in bottles and containers from large vessels placed in the church.
In other parts of China, Catholics celebrated Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Masses.
In Shanghai, a Catholic stronghold, thousands joined processions while wearing facemasks and holding candles.
In Macau, the former Portuguese colony, faithful of Chinese and Portuguese descent joined celebrations in churches while maintaining health guidelines.
In his Easter message, Macau’s Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang greeted the faithful and reminded Catholics to be more committed to their families and communities in the Year of the Family.
“The experience of Covid-19 has brought us to reflect on the precious value of life, highlighting the central role of the family in the domestic church and demonstrating the importance of community bonding between families,” Bishop Lee said.
The Holy Spirit Study Centre in the Diocese of Hong Kong estimates that China has some 12 million Catholics in both the unofficial and official Church communities.
