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Dying eggs for Easter is a newer custom in some China communities.
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Bethany Settlemeyer said school children learned plays to perform at Easter.
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Bethany Settlemeyer helps a child during an activity session.
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Students hold a gift given to them during an Easter celebration.
GreerToday.com
Different cultures celebrate Easter and its meaning in diverse ways.
Most people in the United States celebrate Easter for its religious significance — the resurrection of Christ. However, in China, the holiday has a different sense.
“Easter is still a new holiday to the Chinese,” said Bethany Settlemeyer, “although, a lot of cities are starting to have Easter luncheons and egg hunts.”
Settlemeyer is a graduate of North Greenville University and taught elementary school children in Xiamen, Fujian, China for three years. Xiamen is an island located in Fujian province in southern China. It is a multicultural city.
Settlemeyer is back in the United States studying for her master’s degree in teaching english as a second language (TESOL) and hopes to return to China.
Settlemeyer taught at Jacob-Tree International. Her students produced plays, sang songs and dyed eggs for Easter Sunday. The dyed and painted eggs were given as gifts.
Easter, to the Chinese, is an onset of spring, which is celebrated with festivals. Eggs, rabbits and baby chicks are the symbols of the spring festival, Easter, which is similar to the traditions of Western countries.
The Chinese paint eggs on Easter Sunday. The eggs are emptied and then elaborate images are painted depicting women, sceneries and other designs.
“Easter is an important holiday for the children,” Settlemeyer stated. The children use their creativity to make masks and perform plays at school. Chinese children also sing Easter bunny songs.
Christians in China celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Easter eggs typically have an Asian Jesus on them when a church Easter egg hunt is held.