LSU gives students Good Friday off to enjoy a full Easter weekend, but how will students spend their three day weekend?
Easter is a joyful celebration marking the end of Lent, a period of fasting and repentance for Christians. Students had a variety of plans for Easter this year, but some common themes were attending church and crawfish boils.
Sophomore Olivia Hebert, California born but considers herself a Louisiana native, looks forward to having a crawfish boil after attending church with her parents.
“At sunrise service, a long standing tradition, back home in Orange County, California, we would go to the Pacific Amphitheatre and go at 4 a.m. and have service and sing songs and hymns and it was just really sweet,” Hebert said.
Senior Nicholas Brocato intends to visit family in New Orleans and looks forward to driving home. Although his family does not do anymore childhood traditions like grilling and Easter egg hunts, he is just excited to spend time with his family.
“I’m going to see my dad and sister and we’re probably gonna watch ‘The Godfather’ or ‘The Chosen.’”
Most Louisiana residents said that a crawfish boil is a common Easter meal. One student who has lived in Baton Rouge her whole life says it is a yearly tradition they have.
“I have 3 crawfish boils this weekend. Two in one day,” LSU sophomore Sadie Dufrene said.
Even out-of-state students have figured out ways to take part in the Louisiana Easter weekend tradition.
“I’m from California, but I have some family who live here and we are going to a couple of crawfish boils,” freshman Marcella Blank said.
Louisiana natives partake in an activity called paquing, a traditional Cajun Easter game, where you take dyed eggs and compete against an opponent, trying to crack your opponents hard-boiled egg while keeping yours intact. Freshman Carter Richmond shares that this is his favorite family tradition.
“I am excited to spend time with my extended family and paque eggs,” Richmond said.
Another common event during this Easter weekend is the Zeta Tau Alpha pancake night. Freshmen Abby Skinner, Sophia Valencia and Blank will attend the ZTA pancake night to support philanthropic efforts for the sorority.
New friendships are forming over being far from home this Easter holiday. Although a lot of students stay in Baton Rouge, they are inviting each other to share sacred memories. Freshman Taylor Crutcher was invited to church by another out-of-state student that she just met, and the two plan to get lunch after.
Other students plan to travel out of state, enjoying rest with family and having peace and quiet. Freshman Avaleigh McCann plans to meet her family in Galveston, Texas.
“My little sister is little so we have to keep pretending the Easter bunny is still real, so I am setting up an easter egg hunt after church,” McCann said.
Some students on the parade grounds mentioned their weekend was going to be full of remembering. Kelsi Sharkey shared that she plans to attend a Good Friday service and then have a Bible study with her two friends to remember what this weekend is all about.
“It’s my first Easter without my parents so it’s a little weird,” Sharkey said. “Something I think is pretty funny is that my mom made us watch ‘Passion of the Christ’ every year and when I was younger, and I used to be scared of it, but now I love it because it’s just a beautiful story about Jesus.”
No matter what this Easter weekend will entail – crawfish boils, rest by the ocean, hunting for or paquing eggs or remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is sure to be a sweet and sentimental weekend before students begin to study for finals.
