Faith, food and family: First-year Tess Brennan describes her Easter traditions as the culmination of all three. While the Easter egg hunt can definitely make enemies out of siblings, Brennan said the day is above all “an opportunity to come together.”
“Easter is special to me because it is the holiday where all my family is together and we get to celebrate Jesus and our family,” she said.
Brennan recounted some of her favorite times at Easter involving her grandma, who loved the holiday and consumed an entire day devising new hiding places for colorful eggs.
“One of my favorite memories is on Easter Sunday when I was 7-years-old, we had the annual easter egg hunt at my grandma and grandpa’s and I remember running around the yard with all my cousins, just giggling and having the best time,” Brennan said. “My grandma would spend the entire day before Easter scouting new hiding places for the eggs — and she loved doing it.”
But what about students who can’t make it home for the holiday? While some may choose to travel home with friends, many other students will be spending Easter at Notre Dame. In an effort to enliven the spirit of the holiday, campus has planned a variety events over the long weekend for students to celebrate with their Notre Dame family.
Heading into the weekend, Campus Ministry invites all to attend the three special Holy Week masses: Holy Thursday’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday’s Celebration of the Lord’s Passion and Holy Saturday’s Easter Vigil in the Holy Night.
All three celebrations will take place in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Thursday’s mass will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Friday’s mass from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday’s vigil from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.
On Friday, Campus Ministry will also host a live performance entitled “The Passion at Notre Dame.” Spectators can expect a full staged production that weaves together Scripture and poetry into one cohesive reflection on the events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Students in Notre Dame Folk Choir worked with professional artists to come together for the performance.
Those interested can attend “The Passion” this Friday night from 8:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on South Quad between the Knights of Columbus Building and Alumni Hall. Weather permitting, Campus Ministry suggests bringing a blanket for ground seating.
Students looking to recreate their Easter meal traditions can attend Easter Brunch in South Dining Hall on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some main course highlights include glazed ham, salmon and sirloin steaks. Sides range from lamb Guinness stew to potatoes and carrots, as well as various salads. Easter cake will top off the meal.
So although there’s no Easter egg hunt, both Campus Ministry and Campus Dining hope all students will use these events as a way to come together. As Tess Brennan put it, “this is just one of the examples of Notre Dame as our home under the Dome.”
