Easter is fast becoming my favourite Christian holiday. Which may sound a little strange to those who love Christmas trees, Santa Claus, presnts and snow. Or even those who like to know exactly when their holidays are - after all Easter is a little odd in the way it floats around the calendar.



The reason that I'm Easter is taking the lead on best festival is because it's really two amazing things in one weekend: while Christmas is all about Jesus' birth, Easter is all about his death and then all about his resurrection.



For anyone who's 18 and over there's a film by Mel Gibson called "The Passion of the Christ", passion in this sense actually means suffering, and we know that Christ is Greek for anointed or chosen one. So this film (doing exactly what it says on the tin) shows us the suffering of God's chosen one.



It's pretty grim viewing in parts, which is why it's an 18, for example the scene where Jesus is whipped thirty-nine times by Roman soldiers takes almost ten minutes; after which there is hardly an inch of skin that isn't torn and bleeding; and the crucifixion itself is truly horrific as a mortally wounded man is tormented by those around him, punished unnecessarily and finally dies.



It may not compare well to some of the modern day horror films like "Saw" or "Hostel", films that are more than willing to go to extremes to make you scream, but "The Passion of the Christ" is far more important, because it isn't just about gore. It's about a man who died a terrifying death for us, who died so that we wouldn't have to live in fear. It's a film that doesn't make me jump out of my seat (much), but does make me cry.