My Easter Selections

Easter this year will be celebrated on March 27th and how we celebrate Easter is different for all of us. There is a religious aspect and the folklore of Easter which are both accompanied by the richness of music sacred and secular.

For many, the day includes church services with magnificent religious music. Those beautiful melodies that depict the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “St Mathews Passion” a sacred Oratorio by Jacques Sebastian Bach, “The Easter portion part 2 of Frederic Handel’s Messiah” which ends in the Hallelujah chorus, and J.S. Bach’s “Easter Oratorio”. Gospel hymns that are sung include “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” by Charles Wesley, “The Old Rugged Cross” by George Bennard or “O Happy Day” by Tim Hughes.

For others the emphasis is on the family gathering to enjoy a meal, to participate in coloring Easter eggs or enjoy an Easter egg hunt. Accompanying these would be background music with an Easter flavor such as the theme from the hit Broadway Musical – “Easter Parade” or for the kids “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” or “Hot Cross Buns”.

If you are lucky to see an Easter Parade, the music includes marches, and favorite tunes of the day. The parade is a way for the public to spend a spring afternoon with family and friends and to support the local band. Several Easter Parades were held in Lethbridge led by the Lethbridge Junior Band. The parades were fashioned after the Easter Parades in the United States where everyone participated in their Easter finery. The ladies and young girls would don their new Easter suits, gloves and bonnets.

Whatever Easter tradition you participate in, music is a part of the day. Selections could either sung by family members, in a concert setting or a special church service.

Be sure to hop on down to the Galt Museum’s Easter event: Eggstravaganza. Saturday MAR 26 at 10–2 pm. $4 [$3*]/child age 1+; adults free | * annual pass holder rate.