{"id":362137,"date":"2026-04-03T16:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/362137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:09:18","slug":"faith-food-and-family-how-asian-new-zealanders-celebrate-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/362137\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith, food and family: How Asian New Zealanders celebrate Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jithin<\/p>\n

\nJithin Jose and Remya Sunny continue to follow traditions surrounding Holy Week after moving to New Zealand 11 years ago.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n

Asian Christians in New Zealand are preparing to mark one of the most significant events in the Christian calendar on Sunday with a blend of faith, family and cultural tradition.<\/p>\n

For Christians, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

But the days leading up to Easter, known as Holy Week, carry equal spiritual weight, marked by rituals that reflect sacrifice, remembrance and renewal.<\/p>\n

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on a donkey, greeted by crowds laying palm branches in his path.<\/p>\n

In many Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, worshippers are given small crosses woven from palm leaves, symbols of both his welcome and his crucifixion, often kept in homes throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Christians have also observed Lent in the lead-up to Easter, a 40-day period of fasting and reflection, symbolising both the Israelites’ 40 years in the wilderness and Jesus’ 40 days of fasting.<\/p>\n

For Jithin Jose, who moved to New Zealand from Kerala to Auckland 11 years ago, these traditions remain central to family life.<\/p>\n

“Holy Week is very important for the community,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Palm Sunday is especially meaningful. Many people keep the palm leaves throughout the year.”<\/p>\n

His wife, Remya Sunny, observes Lent, while he typically skips it.<\/p>\n

In Kerala, he said churches traditionally distributed young tender coconut leaves instead – a practice that continued to hold deep cultural significance.<\/p>\n

However, it was Maundy Thursday that resonated most with Jose.<\/p>\n

Observed on the Thursday before Easter, the day marks the Last Supper when Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples.<\/p>\n

Among Malayali Christians, it is known as Pesaha Vyazham and is marked by a distinctive family ritual.<\/p>\n

“Maundy Thursday, or Pesaha Vyazham, is the most memorable day,” Jose said. “We come together as a family and have pesaha appam.”<\/p>\n

After evening church services, households prepared pesaha appam, an unleavened rice bread paired with sarkara paal, a sweet dip made from coconut milk, rice flour and jaggery.<\/p>\n

The meal symbolises the Last Supper and is eaten together by the entire family.<\/p>\n

“We only have it once a year, and everyone from young children to grandparents takes part,” he said.<\/p>\n

Instead of wine at Christ’s Last Supper, Kerala’s pesaha appams are paired with sarkara paal.<\/p>\n

The bread and dip are often adorned with small crosses made from palm leaves blessed on Palm Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

\nMalayali Christian households in New Zealand prepare pesaha appam with sarkara paal alongside hot cross buns, symbolising the Last Supper and shared by the whole family.
\nPhoto: Mebin John\n<\/p>\n

Jose said the ritual balanced reverence with moments of levity.<\/p>\n

“Family and friends gather as the head of the household recites prayers and breaks the bread,” he said.<\/p>\n

“In our family, whoever finishes first gets jokingly called ‘Judas of the Year’ because Judas left the table first.”<\/p>\n

Jose said passing these traditions on to his children was important – not just as an expression of faith, but as a way of preserving cultural identity.<\/p>\n

“We take them home [to India] during this period so they can learn more,” he said. “It’s not about forcing religion but helping them understand where they come from.”<\/p>\n

Easter also holds deep significance for New Zealand’s Filipino community.<\/p>\n

“Easter is huge for the Filipino community,” said Delia Richards, manager of Philippine Culture and Migrant Services.<\/p>\n

“We have a large Christian population, and it’s a time for families to come together.”<\/p>\n

\"Delia<\/p>\n

\nDelia Richards is manager of Philippine Culture and Migrant Services.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n

Richards moved to New Zealand in the 1990s from Leyte, Philippines.<\/p>\n

She said the observance stretched across Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and culminating with Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n

Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’s crucifixion, remained one of the most important days for the community, she said.<\/p>\n

“Going to the Stations of the Cross is an important tradition, and we encourage our children to take part,” Richards said.<\/p>\n

The devotion traces 14 moments from Jesus’s condemnation to his burial, reflecting on his journey to Calvary.<\/p>\n

Jose said Good Friday observances in Kerala carried their own distinct practices.<\/p>\n

Services often concluded with kaippu neeru, a drink made from bitter gourd leaves, neem and other acerbic leaves that are crushed into a paste and mixed with vinegar and water.<\/p>\n

This is prepared to represent the vinegar given to Jesus when he begged for water during his journey to Calvary.<\/p>\n

“Kaippu neeru does not go down easily,” he said.<\/p>\n

New Zealand’s Korean community also marks Easter with its own traditions, where food and fellowship played a central role.<\/p>\n

“Easter is an important religious event for us,” said Kevin Park, who has lived in New Zealand for 30 years.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes we gather at one of the biggest churches, boil lots of eggs and share them with friends.”<\/p>\n

He said decorating eggs was an important part of the celebration.<\/p>\n

“We wrap them in coloured paper, ribbons and lace,” he said. “It’s a way of sharing joy with others.”<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

\nKevin Park moved from South Korea to New Zealand 30 years ago.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n

Richards said Easter egg hunts had also become part of Filipino celebrations in New Zealand, even if they were not traditionally observed in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of Jesus and the conclusion of Holy Week, with communities gathering for church services, shared meals and family visits.<\/p>\n

Food remains a central theme across cultures.<\/p>\n

“The lechon – roast pork cooked for hours – is often the highlight,” Richards said. “We’ll also have adobo (meat simmered in a savory, tangy sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns).”<\/p>\n

For Indian Christian families, the end of fasting gives way to a celebratory Easter banquet on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“We break our fast with special Easter curries and appam,” Jose said.<\/p>\n

“Where I’m from in Kottayam, we might also share a drink to mark the day.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jithin Jose and Remya Sunny continue to follow traditions surrounding Holy Week after moving to New Zealand 11…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,47,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-362137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-podcasts","15":"tag-public-radio","16":"tag-radio-new-zealand","17":"tag-rnz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}