Latest update November 13th, 2024 1:00 AM
Is Easter taking on new look in Guyana
By Abena Rockcliffe
I can recall whilst growing up, I paid keen attention to my brothers as they made
Families at Joe Vieira Park yesterday.
their Caddie Ole Punch (a kite made with paper and pointer) way before the month of April even showed its face. We had no choice but to make those kinds of kites because my parents would only buy kites very close to Easter for fear of them being destroyed before the actual day.
The story was the same for basically all my friends. We all looked forward to holidays like Easter, Christmas and Phagwah mostly because they attracted fun activities. But in recent years I have seen that kite flying is losing its popularity. The only time I see kites in the sky is a day or two before Easter Monday and on the day itself. Even when the kites go up now, it’s definitely not in the numbers like when I was a child; which is not so long ago. These days, fewer children seem to see the beauty in decorating the sky.
While in previous years many families came out in their numbers to fly kites, it now seems that this trend is slowly dying in the city since every year the number of families turning out to the National Park, the Seawall, the Botanical Gardens and open spaces to take part in the kite flying festivities has significantly decreased and that trend is continuing as the years progress.
Last year and the year before Easter celebrations saw a significantly lesser amount of kite flying activities as such, were somehow put on the back burner; while the traditional picnics dominated.
One man, Michael Gibson told Kaieteur News yesterday, “The changing of the times is even evident on these holidays.”
He said that in his time, “We would fly kite from the time Jesus born to when he died. January month is most breezy so soon Christmas done is time to fly kite.”
He attributed the loss of interest by the now-a-day child to technology.
Gibson said, “In my day, we use to make our toys; we would have made kites, arrow and bow and other things, but these days the children don’t want those. They want technology and not just any technology, the one that their friends have.”
Notwithstanding, at least the three Fs remain dominant in the Easter celebrations- Food, Fun and Family.
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