When I was a child (the 9th of 10 children), we would all eagerly look forward to Easter for weeks beforehand, as the smell of ‘gum arabic’ wafted through the house while Daddy lovingly made gorgeous ‘singing engine’ kites for each of us. On Easter Monday we awoke very early, bathed and dressed, picked up our brand-new kites, and – tingling with excitement – placed them carefully on our backs with a piece of the twine coming over our shoulders to thread between our index and middle fingers as we grasped the ‘balla’ tightly.

Daddy’s pockets were filled with extra pieces of tail, twine, kite paper razor blades, and all the accoutrements needed to make minor adjustments or a quick repair.  

Mummy put the finishing touches to the large picnic basket – and we were off!  As we lived in Kingston, we walked to the Seawall and staked out our positions as the sun came up.

Only a Guyanese can understand the joy of seeing your kite soar into the sky, perfectly balanced, the ‘engine’ singing its own, sweet song.

You let out the ‘balla’ more and more, until your kite is so high you can barely see it.

Only a true Guyanese can empathize with a child whose kite twine is cut by the razor blade tied to the tail of another kite, and watches in horror and anguish as his beautiful kite plunges to the ground – or the electric wire.

Only a true-true Guyanese can hear the words “Easter Monday” and immediately “see” in their mind the incredible beauty of the sky over the seawall, filled with kites of every colour shape and description.  Ah…but it sweet!

Easter in Guyana is a joyous time of the year! After the solemnity of Good Friday and three-hour mass, the remainder of the weekend is filled with sheer fun for Christians and non-Christians alike. Parties, hunt­ing for Easter eggs, kite-flying, excursions up-river, trips to the Rupununi Rodeo or the Bartica Regatta – this four-day weekend is action-packed!

For weeks leading up to the Easter holiday weekend, young Guyanese make kites from ‘pointers’ and any kind of paper they can find.

Nothing can match a child’s joy at finding an open space and running with her ‘pointer’ kite as it soars into the air – even though many of these kites end up wrapped around the elec­tric wires for months after Easter!

Easter Sunday dawns and Christian families head to church in their new outfits for a joyful Easter service in celebration of Christ’s resurrection, followed by a large lunch of turkey, ham, and other mouth-watering treats.

But the highlight of the weekend in Guyana is definitely Easter Monday when kite flyers come out in all their kaleidoscopic glory to transform the skies into a sea of rainbows.

In Georgetown, the Seawall and National Park are jam-packed with families decked out in their new Easter clothes, hefty picnic baskets and coolers filled with goodies, ‘boom boxes’ blaring the latest rhythms – and, of course, kites of every shape, size and description.

Groups of men go by carrying gigantic kites – entries for the kite competitions organized by the business community.

What a sight to behold when these enormous, beautiful kites lift off into the heavens – and what a disaster when one barely makes it off the ground before crashing ignominiously into the ground.

Easter celebrations in Guyana are unparalleled any­where in the Caribbean for sheer joy, camaraderie, and brilliance of colour!

Easter in Guyana is a joyous time of the year! After the solemnity of Good Friday and three-hour mass, the remainder of the weekend is filled with sheer fun for Christians and non-Christians alike. Parties, hunt­ing for Easter eggs, kite-flying, excursions up-river, trips to the Rupununi Rodeo or the Bartica Regatta – this four-day weekend is action-packed!

Only a Guyanese can understand the joy of seeing your kite soar into the sky, perfectly balanced, the ‘engine’ singing its own, sweet song.