Students celebrate Easter with a bonfire at the off-campus house Boondocks.
Courtesy | Elaine Kutas

It’s 4 o’clock in the morning, but the celebrations haven’t slowed down. Easter in Hillsdale is an all-night affair. 

Students who stay on campus celebrate the Resurrection in full-force — often attending multiple church services during Holy Week leading up to the pinnacle: the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday services. At St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, the 3-hour vigil starting at 9 p.m. attracts hundreds of attendees (almost 400 this year), Catholic and not, for Mass and the annual Greek Feast that follows after midnight. 

“It is a way of drawing out the anticipation of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter,” junior Devin Houts said. “You kind of have this all-week energy building up to Easter, and that allows for such a huge celebration.”

At the feast, Mass attendees indulge in a meal of traditional Greek food and fellowship after the service. But this isn’t the end of the feasting. For many students, this is just the beginning.

Easter celebrations carry long into the night and early morning hours of Resurrection Sunday, extending beyond the church lawn to backyard parties.

“It started at the off-campus house, Egypt, three or four years ago,” senior Dominic Taranto said about the 2-7 a.m. party his house, Boondocks, hosted this year. “It was at Boondocks last year so we did it again this year. I don’t think it has a super long history, but we want to continue doing it as long as we can.”

Unlike a typical college house party, this is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection for people of all denominations. The toughest students who celebrated throughout the whole night heralded Easter Sunday with morning prayer at 7 a.m. 

Sophomore Pierce Leaman said the party itself felt different from average house parties, allowing for a greater appreciation for the sacred holiday. 

“People have a perception of off-campus events as always being a party, and sometimes they are,” Leaman said. “But this was like a peaceful bonfire with some people talking inside. I got to see a lot of my friends there who I was too occupied to see during the actual Easter Vigil and feast. So it was a great time.”

Taranto, who attended the Easter Vigil at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, said he did not stay up until the morning prayer, as he was attending another service on Easter Sunday. 

“I went to bed at like 4 or 5 in the morning and got a couple hours of sleep,” Taranto said. “I had to serve at one of the morning services for Holy Trinity this year, but last year I stayed up all night, which was a ton of fun. I guess I’m getting too old to stay up all night.”

Leaman was one of 31 people who entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil and said he rode an emotional high all night at the Boondocks party. 

“Last year I didn’t feel like going to Boondocks after Greek Feast and staying up, but this year, it was my confirmation,” Leaman said. “I really needed some extra time to take it all in. I credit the Boondocks guys with being willing to throw. It was a great celebration.”

Houts, who also entered the Catholic Church this Easter, joined in the festivities and said the nature of the holiday calls for much celebration.

“For me, especially with converting this Easter, it was this really culminating moment,” Houts said. “So having the joy of my conversion at the vigil, drawing that out into a celebration with my faith community at Greek Feast, and then expanding that throughout the night and spending time with people at Boondocks, and sitting in that joy and rejoicing on the day and making that a longer celebration is such a great tradition.”