Jamaican churches started celebrating Easter almost as soon as Columbus and his crew invaded the country on May 3, 1494. It is unknown if any Easter-related rituals were practised by the aboriginal Tainos (Arawaks) and Caribs from South America and Ciboneys from North America, who settled Jamaica from as early as 650 AD. Jamaicans still commemorate Easter in secular society where most schools and some business places remain closed on both Good Friday and Easter Monday. The island’s Easter culture suggests that this holy day is as ingrained into the national psyche as are patois and love of heterogeneous sex. In this the 21st century one is led to wonder if most Jamaicans are not being made to celebrate Easter by force instead of by choice. What is the significance of Easter for post-modern Jamaicans?

Easter supposedly commemorates the Passion and Resurrection of the Christ, covering the closing hours of the life of Jesus, from his struggle and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to his resurrection. Catholics celebrate 40 days of Lent, with fasting to prepare believers for the events of Holy Week. Protestants celebrate that week, beginning with Palm Sunday, recalling that Jesus rode a donkey – or on two donkeys, according to Matthew 21:7 – into Jerusalem, and ending with the crucifixion on Good Friday. Scripture does not tell believers to celebrate the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The Bible mentions Easter only in Acts 12: 4, not recommending celebration, and that was clearly a King James Version misinterpretation of Passover. Pauline doctrines in I Corinthians 11 and Romans 6 explain two events to remember the Passion and the Resurrection. They are Holy Communion (Eucharist) and believer’s baptism, supported by the Gospels and Acts. In Colossians 2, Paul strongly condemns celebrating holy days. Why, then, do Jamaicans conduct special services on Ash Wednesday, display coconut branches in church on Palm Sunday, abstain from meats and hold services on Good Friday, and have sunrise services on Easter Sunday? It is mostly about tradition. Unfortunately, not many church leaders or members know the real stories behind their churches’ traditions.

Columbus’ Catholic faith was forced upon Jamaicans from 1494 until May 10, 1655 when the British captured the island from Spain. The Spaniards ensured that religion was used to keep the slaves subservient and aborigines were massacred in God’s name. In 1792 Catholics reorganised with a chapel in Kingston, mainly for use by invaders. The history of Catholicism in Jamaica thereafter, including its substantial contributions to national development, is recorded in a work by Francis X Delaney. However, few Jamaicans bother to question the wisdom of adhering to that religion of their oppressors.

From 1655 to 1824 the British forced Jamaicans to obey the Church of England, and its bishop in London. Since then, the Anglican (Episcopalian) faith has done wonderful things for Jamaica, but again, not enough Jamaicans question this religion of their former slave masters and colonisers. Attempts to impart meaningful Christianity to Jamaicans came from Moravians in 1754, the Baptist George Lisle in 1783, Methodists in 1816 and Presbyterians in 1824, helping to fuel the abolitionist cause which ended slavery in Jamaica on August 1, 1834. These non-conformist denominations still impact Jamaican cultural practices, including Easter. (Judaism came to Jamaica in the 1500s. The Quakers lasted from 1679 to 1749, and Seventh-day Adventists arrived in 1890). Later Pentecostal and African-oriented religions also influenced Jamaica’s Easter celebrations. After Emancipation, Jamaicans no longer by mandate engaged in Catholic Easter mass or Church of England Easter readings and songs. They gradually developed their own Easter traditions, but all seemed based on previous conditioning and exposures. Since Independence in 1962, it is mostly Carnival, reggae sessions, eating of bun and cheese, and holiday outings that reflect indigenous Jamaican Easter celebrations.

Jamaicans place egg albumen in glasses of water on Good Friday, claiming to see images of boats, coffins or crosses, signifying predictions. Special flowers like Easter lilies and plants that seemingly bleed at Easter once fascinated Jamaicans. On Easter Sunday, adults and children rose with the rising sun to gain special blessings. They attended Easter service, wearing brand new clothes, including Easter bonnets by girls and women, hoping to gain maximum blessings from Jesus. Children were made to participate in Easter pageants and to exchange Easter baskets of goodies. Jamaicans were also exposed to foreign symbols like greeting cards, the Easter Bunny and painted eggs. As the island became more Americanised, chocolate treats and senseless commercialism were added.

In summary, Catholicism seems to commemorate an Easter tainted with Roman paganism, including tribute to Eostre (Ishtar), the goddess of fertility, and worship of the sun. Protestants are mainly Catholics in different clothing. How could churches of the true Christ support or turn a blind eye to slavery, colonialism and other atrocities in Jamaica? Easter might be the most important season on the Christian calendar but whose brand of Christianity – Eastern or Western, foreign or indigenous – should Jamaicans celebrate? Are there any logical reasons for an independent Jamaican government to recognise Easter? There are meaningful ways for authentic believers in Yeshua Messiah to reflect on his Passion and Resurrection. First, the resurrected Christ should be envisioned in his original Northeast African and early Egyptian context. Thereafter, the significance of resurrection as bringing hope, new life and new opportunities for success in life must be pondered from the Messianic kingdom viewpoint, which promotes love for Earth and humanity in ways similar to the spirituality of Mayans, Hopis, Rastafari, and others. As 2012 approaches one wonders if Christians in Jamaica and elsewhere will soon be forced to cast of their veil of Easter and instead celebrate the more important truth of Resurrection.

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