Centuries-old Indonesian Easter Tradition Returns after Pandemic Hiatus
The annual event will culminate on Friday evening with a night parade attended by pilgrims in black clothing to mourn the death of Jesus.
LARANTUKA, KOMPAS.com \- Thousands of Catholic pilgrims took part in a centuries-old Easter procession in eastern Indonesia on Friday, April 7, marking its return after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Around 7,000 people held Mass on Flores island's Larantuka for Good Friday before transporting a box believed to hold a sacred Baby Jesus statue in a flotilla along the Catholic-majority town's coast. The wider Christian community in Muslim-majority Indonesia has been the target of discrimination and several Islamist militant attacks in recent years. Catholics represent around three perc...