Easter drives development but mustn’t lose its soul

The pendulum has swung.

What was once a quiet, solemn three-day remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ has, to all intents and purposes, become Ghana's unofficial domestic tourism capital.

Over the past weekend, the transformation was impossible to ignore. From the paragliding enthusiasts soaring off  the Odweanoma Mountain in Kwahu to the canoe racers battling the tides at Vodza, near Keta, and the debutant Gomoa Easter Festival, with its star-studded lineup, the nation witnessed a dramatic pivot. 

The pews emptied, the party grounds filled, and corporate Ghana took notice. Brands fought for visibility at every gathering, elbowing their way into spaces traditionally reserved for church services, turning the holiest season on the Christian calendar into a marketer's paradise.

There is no denying the economic logic. As the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) correctly argues under the 'Black Star Experience' initiative, Easter is now the single biggest concentration of disposable income and consumer attention outside of Christmas.

The Daily Graphic acknowledges the immense economic potential of the Easter season.

The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, correctly describes the Kwahu Easter festivities as a "national tourism asset" and a "vital source of income for thousands."

His appeal for better roads to sustain the tourist influx is entirely reasonable.

The Authority recorded 31 paragliding flights on the first day alone in Kwahu. More than 11,000 tourists were expected to participate.

These are not trivial numbers; they represent real revenue for local businesses, transport operators, hospitality providers and food vendors.

The Kwahu Business Forum, now in its third edition and spearheaded by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, represents a laudable attempt to anchor this energy for tangible economic transformation.

President John Dramani Mahama himself revealed that the idea was conceived in the back of a vehicle during a campaign tour, proof that simple ideas can evolve into impactful national initiatives.

The President's announcement of a permanent convention centre and even an airstrip for Kwahu signals a forward-looking vision that could position the town as a year-round destination, not merely an Easter weekend hotspot.

Furthermore, the entry of Gomoa Central into the tourism ecosystem, spearheaded by the Member of Parliament, Kwame Asare Obeng (A-Plus), demonstrates how Easter has become a vehicle for local economic development.

With over 20,000 projected attendees and headline sponsorship from Shatta Wale's company, the message is clear: Easter is big business. 

The MP's ambition to market the largest fish farm in West Africa through the festival is precisely the kind of creative economic thinking Ghana needs.

Yet, amid the clinking of glasses and the roar of paragliding engines, Reverend Bright Mawuena Nfodjoh of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, gave an admonition that should give the nation pause.

In a pastoral letter, he lamented that Good Friday, a day set aside for mourning the crucifixion, is now used for hiking, asafo drumming and jamborees.

"Where the meaning of Easter is not deeply taught, experienced and embodied," he cautioned, "it becomes vulnerable to cultural redefinition."

He is right.

He blames the Church itself for contributing to its own marginalisation, noting that "places of worship lost their distinctiveness and became indistinguishable from entertainment centres."

However, we caution against a complete severing of the cord that ties the Easter season to the crucifixion and  resurrection of Jesus Christ, making it a period of spiritual renewal and reawakening.

That duality, spirituality alongside development, must be the model.

The danger is not commerce itself; it is the complete evacuation of sacred content.

When the long weekend becomes only about travel, leisure and consumption, something irreplaceable is lost.

The challenge for Christians is not to choose faith over debauchery.

It is to ensure that the empty tomb is not forgotten in the rush for the empty wallet.

Let us build the airstrips and the convention centres.

Let us support the paragliding and the regattas.

But let us also guard the sacredness that gives the season its name. 

For, if Easter loses its meaning entirely, the commerce that now feeds on it will eventually wither as well.

A festival with no soul is a product with no future.