TODAY, Guyanese will celebrate Easter Monday in the best tradition, known and practised for many decades – kite-flying.

It is an occasion, the high point which would have been Easter Sunday, which day commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose crucifixion memorial was observed on Good Friday, which is recorded as the day of his death on the cross. Easter Sunday is a triumphant celebration by Christians, of Christ’s rising from the dead. This usually takes the form of church services and related processions.

Easter, like its other significant Christian festival of Christmas, has come to be embraced by all Guyanese irrespective of race and ethnicity and cultural affiliation. It reminds one of the festivals of Holi that has indeed morphed into a truly national festival, in which there is open and spontaneous participation by all the races throughout their communities in the different regions.

For Easter Monday the significant event will be kite-flying, as thousands of Guyanese of all races and cultures embrace, inclusive of all religious moulds, will be taking to primarily the seawall, the National Park; the Joe Vieira Park on the West Bank of Demerara; in school yards; and in open spaces wherever these are found, to raise their kites. It is said that kite-flying signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Although Easter Monday celebrations in Guyana have traditionally always been centred on the marquee act of kite-flying, those of a mature age will remember those bygone times when the popular village excursions were very much a staple feature of this day. One can also recall the popular bus excursions that departed Georgetown, inclusive of blaring juke boxes; colourfully dressed ladies with beautifully wrapped head wear, with baskets filled with varied cuisine, journeying to the then popular mecca of Tiperrary Hall, Buxton, and other locations such as Mahaica, Hopetown, and Ithaca. But how can we not mention the city folk, travelling aboard the then well-known Georgetown to Mc Kenzie – as Linden was originally named – river vessel, the RH Carr, conveying revellers to the bauxite town.

Fast forward to the present, and this day is now mainly celebrated with large family gatherings, picnic style at the public spaces mentioned above, with activities such as cookouts, as well as packed lunch baskets. On observation, it is a day, apart from where all the races will interact, both directly and indirectly, in the public spaces, and even in the non-public ones, will herald new friendships made; many lost friendships found and rekindled/restored. There is the usual Guyanese hospitality on display, where lunches and drinks are shared among different ethnic groups. It is a day that brings out the Guyanese nation in a milieu that has become cross-cultural, since every ethnic group fly kites and enjoy the day in a common environment.

These are cultural days that contradict the perception that we are so different, that there are no common features that could be discerned for a meeting on that common national ground called Guyanese. It is submitted that each such occasion, although of different cultural visage, has with the passage of time, been gradually facilitating an informed understanding of each other; a more open- mindedness as to what togetherness among different ethnicities mean; and a better appreciation of each other as Guyanese.

Further, it is submitted that this is what social cohesion is all about, and intended to be – the meeting of the races in open spaces, that although for cultural or other social reasons, will cause the beginning of conversations, for building bridges of togetherness and unity.

It is an effort, and a worthwhile sacrifice, that we all must be ready to make so that our children and grandchildren will inherit a better nation – the ideal of which our National Motto declares: ONE PEOPLE,ONE NATION, ONE DESTINY.
Happy Easter to all!