This spring break, most of our students attended morning school. Teachers prepared lots of fun activities for them which includes playing at the park and finding colorful flowers and leaves for their crafts, eating lunch under the shade of trees with falling cherry blossom petals from nearby trees and writing about it in English, making strawberry parfait and writing a food diary, and making easter eggs that will be used for egg hunting. These were only a few of the activities that children had for their spring break.

Each month we are celebrating different events at Yume Kirara School. For April, we had Easter egg hunting. For about a week, children would get chocolate treats when they found lucky Easter eggs, or asked teachers some questions in English. These were done after the kids had their English lesson while they were waiting for their parents to fetch them. It was fun to see how kids had a group egg hunting inside a rope and how they enjoyed their sweet treats.

In the Philippines, which has a lot of Catholic people, celebrating Easter is more than just egg hunting. We lookback on our wrongdoings and try to do good and become better people who reflect God’s unselfishness and love to mankind. Because Christ endured so much sufferings, we also try to share the burden of “carrying the cross” by limiting our food through fasting and not eating meat. However, some people are doing the opposite. They have forgotten the essence of Easter and celebrate it lavishly by going to fancy resorts and eating delicious food.

People from around the globe may have different ways of celebrating Easter and others may not really celebrate it at all. I only hope that whether it is Easter week or not, we still reflect on our misdeeds and try to be good Samaritans who help the needy. By helping, I don’t just mean giving money or material things, but also showing compassion through empathizing and understanding one’s situation.