With the month of April comes warmer weather and excitement about the end of the school year, and this year, April also brought Easter and Passover celebrations.
However, holidays can be difficult for students that do not live close enough to Lehigh to go home to celebrate with their families. To bring religious opportunities to students staying on campus, Lehigh held an Easter Sunday mass at Packer Chapel, and Hillel hosted a traditional Passover Seder on Tuesday.
Lehigh’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship also organized an Easter potluck Sunday. Students were welcomed to enjoy an evening of food and festivities at the Act 2 Christian-themed residential community in Warren Square E.
Nathalye Terrero-Martinez, ’19, a member of InterVarsity, said the club usually starts Easter Sunday by breaking into groups and attending services at various churches. In addition to Packer Chapel, students also went to local Bethlehem churches such as Epic Church, Hope Alliance Church and Graceway Community Church.
“Everyone goes to different sermons, but we usually all meet up and go to Rathbone and eat together for Sunday brunch,” said Terrero-Martinez.
For the potluck dinner, Terrero-Martinez asked individuals to bring dishes from a variety of cultures so everyone could come together and understand the different ways in which people celebrate Easter.
Although the potluck dinner was given as an opportunity for students who live too far from home to celebrate Easter on campus, Terrero-Martinez ensured that anyone was more than welcome to attend the event. She encouraged any students spending Easter weekend at Lehigh to eat dinner at Act 2 and meet new people from different Christian backgrounds.
Some Lehigh students who had an easy commute home were able to experience the holidays both on and off campus.
Alysse Weinberg, ’20, said she was glad she could go home and celebrate Passover for the first Seder on Tuesday, although not being home for the entire holiday was an adjustment.
“Passover for me is like a big thing with my family, so it’s kind of hard not to have that at school when you’re so far away from everything else,” Weinberg said.
Weinberg was interested in attending Chabad at Lehigh to celebrate the holiday. And with the Kosher options offered at the dining halls during the week, Weinberg also said she was trying her best to keep Kosher for Passover.
Others could go home for the entire holiday weekend and experience the traditions with their friends and family in a familiar setting.
“I like to spend Easter relaxing and taking a break from school, and eating dinner with my family. I also go to church for Palm Sunday,” Logan King, ’20, said.
Although students often have to celebrate holidays in different environments in college, Lehigh attempts to recognize the traditions of students and incorporate them into the Lehigh community.
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