April news from Awaas Seva Sadan

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 One of the most memorable things this year will be the official lockdown to try and contain the spread of the Corona virus that has become a pandemic, affecting every country of the world.



It was preceded in India , on a government suggestion, by a subtle  'awareness'  campaign - a banging of plates and thalis by Awaas staff and residents. 

Did you see the Pink Moon on the night of Tuesday/Wednesday 7/8th April? I looked out of my bedroom window at the right time but the moon looked it’s usual bright silver colour. There was however, a faint hazy halo around the moon which could, by stretching the imagination possibly be described as a delicate pink! 

In many cultures, including Native American tribes, people named the full moons throughout the year as a way to keep track of time..
 April's full moon is known as the Pink Moon, we had been told not to expect it to look particularly pink! It's named after little pink flowers, called wild ground phlox, which bloom in early spring and appear throughout the United States and Canada.Some places had pink or red moons depending on the position of the sun. 
It is also called the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Fish Moon in other parts of the world.
April's full moon marked important festivals and holidays for many people around the world . Hindus celebrated the birth of Hanuman in a festival called Hanuman Jayanti..It is also  the Sikh festival of Vaisaki.
The very important festival for Jewish people, called 'Passover', celebrates the return of the Jewish people to Israel from their long exile, in biblical times, in Egypt. People gather together to share a special meal with a lot of symbolism to remind them of their life in, and escape from, their slavery in Egypt.
The Christian festival is called Holy Week as it lasts from Sunday 5th April to Easter Sunday 11th April. with the most solemn day being Good Friday, the day which commemorates the public death and humiliation of Jesus Christ on a cross of wood according to the Roman fashion at that time,. This same Jesus  was buried and after three days he became alive again and appeared to his followers, thereby proving his Godhood.
People give and  eat eggs made of chocolate, In America children roll eggs down a slope in a race. In Europe eggs are hidden in a garden or the house and children go around finding them.
Why eggs? Because an egg is the beginning of life, the new life of Jesus for Christians and of the church. Baby chicks and baby animals, and spring flowers are also associated with Easter  Some people make special cakes and religious people give Easter cards to one another.

Unable to leave the house I watched several religious programmes via Youtube on my phone, There were several programmes relayed from India, from Mumbai's Holy Family Cathedral and from churches in Worli and Bandra. This evening I will watch a film about the Passion of Christ. It is a day of fasting and abstinence which means eating less than normal, missing a meal and not eating meat, plus trying to say extra prayers and read the bible..
Easter Sunday is in contrast a  day of joy and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Easter eggs, cakes and good things! A family celebration in normal times. Easter Monday is not a religious festival but a secular one, a national and bank holiday in the UK. It is tacked on to the end of the  religious feast. to make a long holiday weekend.



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