Spring has sprung — birds are chirping, the sun is shining and flowers are blooming — which means that Easter is right around the corner. As with any holiday, everyone celebrates Easter in their own special way, so how are LSU students celebrating this beloved holiday?
Mary Elise Milligan is a freshman majoring in elementary education. Her family has many fun traditions throughout the year, and Easter is no exception.
For Easter, Milligan goes to a camp in Moss Lake with her family. They are able to go on a little retreat together, which gives them the opportunity for lots of family time. Leading up to Easter, the Milligans stuff eggs for the kids, do an easter egg hunt and cook chicken on the grill.
On Good Friday, the Milligan family celebrates in a distinctly Southern way with a crawfish boil. Nothing says Louisiana Easter more than a crawfish boil. On Sunday morning, they wake up to Easter baskets.
“I am so excited to see all of my family,” Milligan said.
Addy Arcement is a freshman civil engineering major, and Easter holds a special place in her heart.
“Easter is not only one of my favorite holidays, but also one of my favorite seasons,” Arcement said. “It brings me a sense of gratitude that no other religious holiday quite matches.”
Like the Milligan family, Arcement also celebrates the holiday with a Good Friday crawfish boil. On Saturday, her family gets together and watches “The Passion of the Christ,” a movie that recounts the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Ryann Dotson is a freshman biology major. Most of her family lives in Baton Rouge, Port Allen and New Orleans.
“We’re a big family-function family. So every big holiday, we always all get together,” Dotson said.
Dotson celebrates Easter in New Orleans at her grandparents house. There, her family has a big crawfish boil and an Easter egg hunt for the little cousins.
Dotson talked about her fondest Easter memories with her mom and her aunt. She has many childhood memories of sleeping at her aunt’s house around Easter time and dyeing eggs.
“It was super fun because that’s just not something that we did at our house,” Dotson said.
Rowan Dravid, a freshman business major, also enjoys dyeing eggs with his family.
“My favorite part of Easter is when I come back from church and my mom starts making all the eggs,” Dravid said. “I dye them with my entire family.”
Payton Radke, a freshman biological science major, is not from Louisiana. In fact, she is from Martinez, California.
This is Radke’s first Easter away from home. Typically, she goes to church with her immediate family and does dinner with family and friends after. When she was younger, she enjoyed her town Easter egg hunt with her brother.
As an out-of-state student, this year looks a little different for Radke. However, she will still be spending the holiday with her family.
“This is my first Easter out of state, and my parents and younger brother are coming to visit me,” Radke said.
