Easter In Africa – How We Celebrate It Over Here

Depending on where you come from, easter is a popular holiday that has its traditions. So you may have wondered, How is Easter celebrated in Africa? I have lived in Kenya all my life and I would love to answer this question.

Easter is celebrated by all Christian African countries through going to church and taking time away from work. For many city dwellers in Africa, Easter is an opportunity to travel away from the city to see relatives or go on road trips. In this article, I will go into a bit of detail about how Easter looks like in Africa and some of the traditions that accompany it.

How is Easter celebrated in Africa?

Africa is a big continent. Its population as of 2016 was 1.2 billion. About 24% of Africa’s population practices Christianity and in the countries where the population of Christians is the majority, the Easter holidays are a big occasion on the calendar.

Easter in the African countries where Christians are the majority is celebrated with the following markers:

1. National Holiday: Most of Africa celebrates Easter by declaring it a national holiday where people don’t report to work during this weekend. I found that for most businesses that work on Saturdays, they will allow their employees to take Friday and Monday Off but report to their work stations on Saturday.
2. Church Attendance:  With religious Christians, attending church is an important part of celebrating Easter. Church services happen in the morning and before midday for most of the churches in my town.
3. Parties: For those who are able to, Easter is marked with parties where people visit their friends and relatives and share a meal. The party may involve a barbeque. 
4. Out of town Trips: Many of the city dwellers take advantage of the long weekend to plan a long trip away from the city. These may either be road trips or visits to relatives who were last seen during Christmas.
5. Visiting Relatives: African families are really close-knit and visiting each other is a good way of maintaining this bond. Families would normally organize get-togethers where they get to interact and bond with.

What do African’s Eat During Easter?

There are no meals that cut across all the different countries during Easter. However, the delicacies that we enjoy in Kenya would be: 

• Chapatis (flour doe flattened out and Cooked over a flat pan)
• Nyama Choma (goat meat, or beef Barbecue)
• Pilau (Spiced rice with seasoned meat)

These are the delicacies enjoyed on special occasions in Kenya and in that grain, the meal that is considered delicacies in the African country celebrating Easter is likely to be the meal prepared in Easter.

What Activities Do Africans Have During Easter?

1. Attending church

The one activity that is practiced across all the African countries that celebrate Easter is attending church services on Good Friday and Easter Monday. 

This is an important ritual in the celebration of Easter since the holiday is supposed to be a solemn one that involves prayer and reflection. 

2. Traveling

For those that are not very religious, Easter is usually an opportunity to travel across to the village to visit relatives or go on short holidays to national parks, beaches, and other tourist attractions.

3. Hosting friends and family

Many African communities value family and meeting together. With busy city life and work commitments, the only time most families have to meet are holidays like Christmas and Easter. 

Family gatherings consist of music, dance, lots of food and speeches. However, the main reason they are organized is for family members to socialize and catch up. 

Which Countries in Africa Celebrate Easter

Most African countries south of the Sahara celebrate Easter and have it as a public holiday on their calendars. This is because most of sub-Saharan Africa is predominantly Christian and even though most of the population is not very religious, I still enjoy having a few days away from work.

Differences between the way Easter celebrated in the west versus Africa

Easter celebrations in Africa are quite similar to the ones in the west however, there are a number of key differences in the way Easter is celebrated in Africa vs the way it’s celebrated in the West. 

1. No Easter Bunny: Unlike several Western countries Africa does not have the Easter Bunny as part of the Easter celebrations. 
2. No hunting for Easter eggs:  in addition to Easter eggs are not normally part of Easter celebrations either and searching for them is not something that children do during this season.
3. Not very commercialized: Although there will be a bit of gift-buying during this season, Easter is not very commercialized and is not marked by a lot of shopping in Africa.

Is Easter on the same date in Africa as it is in the other countries

 Easter is celebrated on the same day in Africa as it is in other parts of the world. just like the rest of the world,  we will mark Good Friday and Easter Monday. However, since most people work during the weekends, that Saturday is not normally considered a public holiday and people will report to work for a half day’s shift as usual. 

Do African countries have Easter processions

A lot of African Christians are Catholics and during Easter day will be a procession that demonstrates the way of the cross. I’m not Catholic myself and so I’m not intimately familiar with how this goes, but the position is led by a priest who leads people to make prayers as they walk along the street. 

The processions are different from the processions I see in some Asian countries where the death of Christ is re-enacted. I have not seen any African country that has a kind of reenactment that some of these Asian countries have.

In Kenya, where I live, have not seen any reenactment at the level of what they do in countries like the Philippines

How important is Easter to African Christians

Easter is an important holiday for many African Christians since it helps them remember the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Although many Christians take this holiday as a perfect time to get away from work, it is not just about the time off. Many professing Christians take Easter as an opportunity to reflect on their own lives and their relationship with God. 

Other popular holidays celebrated in Africa

Apart from Easter, here are a few other holidays that we celebrate together with the rest of the world: 

1. Christmas: Africans celebrate Christmas by meeting with family, eating a lot and traveling. 
2. New year’s: the New year’s Eve and New year’s holiday marks the end of the Christmas festivities for most Africans. Most of us are pretty broke after spending a lot of money traveling and visiting family so it marks the start of work after play. 
3. Labor day: this holiday doesn’t mean too much to most people apart from the labor unionists who have processions. 

Popular Western holidays that are not celebrated in Africa

Although many of the Christian holidays are celebrated in Africa, there are a few popular Western holidays that are not:

1. Thanksgiving: we are about Thanksgiving on the internet but do not celebrate it in Africa. 
2. Hanukkah & Kwanzaa: I mean no offense to anyone who celebrates these holidays but all I’ve heard about them is that they are Jewish holidays that are celebrated around Christmas time. 

A Final Word

As you prepare for your trip to Africa, I would like to recommend a few products that would help make your life easier. 

1. Information About Africa: I have created a YouTube channel that focuses on things about traveling to Africa that only Africans can tell you about. Check out the channel for insights about African culture and things you can do as a traveler to optimize your trip. You should also visit TripAdvisor forum posts (Here is the Kenya Forum) and ask questions about your particular situation. There are a lot of people who are happy to help you out. 
2. Choosing a Safari Company: I have written an extensive article on how to choose a safari Company. You can. Check it out before starting the process of searching for a safari company.
3. Safari Planning Services: If you’d rather leave the planning to an expert, I offer personalized safari planning services. I handle everything from helping you choose the right safari company, creating your custom itinerary, managing bookings, and even providing a packing list and reminders for important trip details. It’s like having a personal assistant dedicated to your trip, ensuring that everything runs smoothly, so you can focus on enjoying the adventure. Learn More in this article