Easter eggs in the Arctic

An Egg is one of the symbols of Easter, a symbol of Jesus' tomb carved in a rock from which Life rises. There are many traditions around the world which uses eggs for Easter. In Naujaat, in the Canadian Arctic Inuit children gather each Easter afternoon to honor that tradition. First they colour the eggs in a contest and then they do an Easter egg hunt. In southern parts of the world many people hide the eggs in their gardens. In the Arctic there are no gardens and the snow covers everything till the month of June, but that does not prevent the children from having their fun. This year amid the winds gusting up to 50 km/h and a wind chill of -30 many children hunted for chocolate eggs in the snow outside the mission of Our Lady of the Snows.

Easter Monday is a traditionally a day of the First Communion in Our Lady of the Snows Missions in Naujaat, Nunavut. This year 18 Inuit children received the Eucharist for the first time. In the Arctic many of the celebrations happen on community level. So is also with celebration the First Communion. Right after the solemn Mass children with their family and other community members gather in the church hall and celebrate this special day with a dinner, cakes and candy toss.

Fr. Daniel Szwarc OMI

(DJ)