Kathmandu [Nepal], April 9 (ANI): Hundreds of christians held mass prayers to mark the Easter Sunday celebrations in Nepal. They also marched on the street rallying through various locations of Kathmandu in order to mark the occasion.
Regarded as the resurrection day, the mass celebration was attended by Christians from Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu district at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu.
"We organized a peace march and before the sunrise prayers were held at respective Churches this morning. Also, the followers of this religion gather at the Church on early morning, exchange greetings and set off on peace march. Along with there's the tradition of giving donation to the needy," Mohan Sharma, a pastor at a local church of Kathmandu told ANI.
The rally organized on Sunday morning carried placards chanting slogans, singing and dancing on the street.
Easter Sunday is celebrated with the belief that Jesus was resurrected on the 3rd day after he was crucified. According to the Bible, two thousand years ago, on Friday, Jesus was crucified on the hill of Jerusalem, and on the third day after that, he was resurrected and that day was Sunday.
Easter Sunday is also considered the day of Jesus' resurrection, which is also why it is mentioned that Jesus was resurrected on Easter Sunday and lived for another 40 days. During this time, it is said that he taught his followers, and then went to heaven.
In an event that has become one of its kind that the Christians of Nepal have come out onto the street and gathered to celebrate the festival.
"For about three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic we held prayers in our Church adhering the restrictions. Before the pandemic also we marked the festival at various districts but this year- after a gap of about 5 years we are here to celebrate the festival together," another pastor David Dahal told ANI.
According to the National Christian Federation, there are more than 14 thousand churches and more than 3 million Christians in Nepal. (ANI)