Celebration of Easter in Korea

Easter is one of the best days in Christianity because it is the day that commemorates the revival of Jesus Christ. But for those who do not believe in religions like me, Easter is just an ordinary weekend or holiday. People give eggs during Easter Day which are painted with pictures about the life of Jesus. They are usually colorful, so, they are beautiful. When I was young, I received Easter eggs from Christians. As a child, I found the egg paintings very beautiful and attractive. But I always got disappointed because I realized that those were just boiled eggs. It was a funny experience as a kid. Easter Day makes me remember my childhood days.

By Lee Yoon-Sung, GEO Class 3-3 (Professor Nigel Power and TA Roselle's class)

Easter, a mixture of redemption, triumph and celebration

For some, Easter is about brightly colored eggs, wearing pastels, or enjoying a big meal, going Easter egg hunting with friends. For others, Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Easter is a Christian holiday when we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead - Jesus’ resurrection on the third day after his crucifixion. For Christians it is a great reminder of God’s love. More so, it brings hope to a person - faith and hope of every Christian in the Good News of God's profound love of mankind, a love that conquers death.

As for me, Easter is a great reminder about a lot of things.

One, that God sent His son to die for us - John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. It reminds me of His sacrifice for me. It is a time to remember the Messiah, sent by God to provide the means for our Salvation - a joyous affirmation of our redemption through the love of Christ, our hope of salvation, and our faith in the resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come...

Two, it reminds me of hope. Once in a while, in our lives there are certain circumstances that happen to us – good things and not so good things. We or our loved ones may suffer failure, loss, rejection, inadequacy, inability, to name a few. We may lose a job, a whole career, a loved one, a position, prestige, money, etc. Or we may fail at tasks that matter, or even at our life’s mission. These experiences cuts deep and can be so demoralizing that we could remain stuck and unable to recover our bearing or zest to move on. Nevertheless, times like Easter reminds us that there is more to life (than focusing or worrying about these things). “That’s life.” Life can be sometimes unpredictable and oftentimes ironic with its joys and sadness, the triumphs and tribulations we are bound to encounter, but then how can we realize the greener pasture if we haven’t experienced the dry land? It is indeed a rollercoaster adventure that we should learn to embrace. There are peaks and troughs but we should learn to cope up with this – to be resurrected and emerge and continue to live and fight and hope that something better will happen. This is indeed a great Easter reminder.

Three, as a holiday spent with family. Easter is part of the holy week celebration in the Philippines. Easter is preceded by Lent, a forty day period of fasting, prayer and penance for Catholics and Christians. The last week of Lent is the holy week, includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday and Easter Sunday. In the Philippines, holiday starts on Maundy Thursday. People don’t have to go to school or offices during this time. For most individuals, it is a time to rest and/or spend time with their loved ones. Most people go to their hometowns and enjoy time together with family and friends. I remember times in the past when our family hangs around at home enjoying family bonding moments together. These moments with treasured people are indeed priceless.

Easter is a mixture of redemption, triumph and celebration. Easter may mean a different thing for you, different from my point of view. But Easter was only possible because there was suffering and death and resurrection that went with it. May we remember this sacrifice and try to live with meaning and to start over no matter what circumstances we are in.

To all our readers, The GEO family hopes you had a very happy and joyful Easter Sunday.

Let this joy of Easter fill up our hearts,
Today and the whole year ahead.
May we live a joyful and love filled life
Happy Easter! ♥♥♥

by Abigail Go, GEO Blog Editor

Photos courtesy of google images ^^

GEO Class 3-2 shares how they spent their Easter holiday

Hi GEO Blog readers.

What’s going on with you all? This is MK from Roger’s class and I’d like to share the activities that my class students did during the recently concluded Easter holiday.

Professor Roger and TA MK (both raising their hands) with GEO Class 3-2

First, I’d like introduce Yongwoo, the most popular guy in class. Let’s hear him out.

“I’m a Christian, but I went to the Catholic Church. Last Sunday, I got Easter eggs, people can easily get these eggs from Korean Sauna (찜질방). Even though they looked like normal eggs, they tasted good. The following day, we don’t have class so I went hiking in the mountain near our campus, Wonmi mountain. Because my roommate was still busy preparing for the midterm examinations, I decided to go alone.”

What a lonely guy. Let me tell you a story of another lonely guy, Su won.

“Thanks to the Easter celebration, I could concentrate studying. We have no class the next day, Monday, so I had more time to study. I’d like to say that I love Jesus.”

Su Kyung told me that she prayed on Easter day with her mom. You know why? To get better score on her midterm test. JJJ

“Actually I just studied on Easter day, because I had 3 midterm tests. Since they were my major subjects, I had to study very hard. My mother called me because she knew that I was busy preparing for the exams. We prayed together on the phone.”

Hyo-jung would like to share what she did on Easter day when she was a kid.

“When I was a young child, I used to go to church every Sunday with my brother. I remember that in the past Easter Sundays, I was given eggs covered with cellophane papers, with fake eyes and lips on the egg’s shell. I was so happy to receive such lovely and tasty eggs, so an egg is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Easter day.”

There are not only people who were given eggs but also who made eggs, in a bizarre way.

“When I was in high school, I made Easter eggs. My high school was a Catholic school, and I was a member of the Catholic club. So I had to make Easter eggs. I had a lot of fun. This year, I wanted to participate in making Easter eggs in our school’s church, but unfortunately I couldn’t because I had to prepare for the exam. I’m a senior now, and this year is my last year in school, so I felt very disappointed...”

Did you enjoy our stories? We’re sad that we cannot see eggs that So young makes. Next year, I hope that you would have more fun. Opt to spend more time with your family at church instead of preparing for the midterm test. Adios! See you around campus ^_^

by GEO Class 3-2 (Professor Roger and TA MK)