I don’t know much about it. How do I dress? Do I bring food? Am I supposed to say “Happy Easter”? Is that a thing? What do I do there??!!!
I don’t know much about it. How do I dress? Do I bring food? Am I supposed to say “Happy Easter”? Is that a thing? What do I do there??!!!
Comments
A church service?
These are great questions to ask the person that invited you.
Every religion and parish celebrates Easter differently
People usually dress in very springy, maybe somewhat fancy clothes for Easter service, but you should not feel compelled to feel uncomfortable or that you need to dress fancy if that’s not your shtick. While many women at my church will wear Nice Easter dresses, I will also be perfectly comfortable in jeans. Who invited you? If you feel comfortable, you can ask them if there are any traditions that you can expect the church to follow, such as whether people will be taking communion, or how to greet people around you.
I’d ask if it’s religious and what the denomination is…. I’m a protestant but recently started going to Catholic Easter mass with my in laws. Learning to refuse communion was huge. There’s little nuances depending on the faith
I’m giving advice from an Evangelical Christian perspective. I’d imagine if this is a Catholic service most of the etiquette will remain the same, but there may be some differences in tradition I’m not aware of.
Happy Easter is completely acceptable! You may hear something like “Peace be with you” or “God be with you”, if you feel like it, the ‘proper’ response is “And also with you.”
Dress: this will be very subjective, depending on lots of things-denomination, time of day, age demographic of the congregation, etc. For the most part, most church-goers dress more formally than they would on a typical Sunday. It used to be very much the time to wear your absolute best, and was almost treated like the opening day of society.
Pastels are typically the go-to for Easter. You can’t go wrong with a nice blouse and skirt, or a dress that is around low thigh length or longer. I’d avoid spaghetti straps, but typically thicker sleeveless straps are okay. Again, some churches may have a more casual or more formal dress code. Whoever invited you should be able to steer you in the right direction.
Most will not care what you actually wear though, as long as you’re not wearing something blatantly offensive. You may have some uppity older ladies gossip if they deem your outfit “too casual,” but you probably won’t know and certainly shouldn’t care!
You may see communion presented. This is when the bread and wine (or paper wafers and grape juice lol) are offered. In many churches, it is only considered appropriate to take communion if you are a member of the faith. You should not feel obligated or pressured into not partaking.
Feel free to participate in as much or as little as you feel comfortable. I would suggest still standing when prompted, but you don’t need to feel like you have to sing all the songs or do any of the call and responses if they’re involved. Respectfully listening along is more than fine!
If you’re going to a kind and accepting church, you can wear just about anything that is like, put together. Aka-nice jeans and a nice top is totally fine, but booty shorts & a crop top wouldn’t be cool. Most, at least at my church, will be in the former or in kind of springy dresses/skirts/pixie pants type vibe. Really depends on the church you’re going to.
If you’re invited by someone, I wouldn’t bring food unless you mean you’re going to someone’s Easter luncheon then you could offer to bring something. And yes “Happy Easter” is perfect.
But, don’t feel like you have to be someone you’re not or do things you don’t understand/don’t come natural-just be you and ask your friend these questions and have a nice time. 🩷