17 October, 2024
Dr. Muhammad Yunus
The Honorable Chief Adviser of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Subject: Request to declare Easter Sunday a public holiday.
Your Excellency,
Greetings from the United Forum of Churches, Bangladesh (UFCB), an alliance of all the Churches existing in Bangladesh!
We, the Christians of Bangladesh would like to cordially congratulate you on becoming the Chief Adviser of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and we express our deep gratitude to you for taking this important role during the crisis period of Bangladesh. Please be assured of our prayers for all the success of you and your Government. We beg to bring your kind notice that the Easter Sunday, on which we celebrate the triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death, is one of the most significant celebrations in the Christendom. The feast falls on the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. (If the full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday). Unfortunately, this day of immense importance for Christians is not counted as government holiday despite repeated requests to the previous governments of Bangladesh. As a result, many Christians cannot attend the Church-services and the Holy Mass and thus fail to fulfill religious obligations and appease spiritual thirst. Moreover, some exams often fall on this day and the Christian students feel distressed not being able to join the Feast with the community. We beg to have this opportunity, like other religions of our country, to celebrate this significant and solemn celebration with religious mode, joy and festivities.
Although the Christian population is not big, we are very much part of this country and making significant contributions towards development initiatives through our caring and sharing efforts, particularly in the areas of Education, Medical care, Poverty alleviation and other community development programs.
We appreciate the reformation initiatives of your government, under your great leadership, also for considering various logical and justified people’s demands. We request your sympathetic consideration to declare Easter Sunday a public holiday so that Christian community can enjoy and perform important rituals.
Thanking you again, and assure our full support for any initiative for the betterment of our nation.