Father Bishoy Mekhaiel (left) and Rabbi Dean Shapiro (right) Photo: Supplied
The Detail looks at two communities which, over the Easter period, will be marking the dates in very different ways
Chocolate eggs. Debates over shop opening hours. Traffic congestion as Kiwis take advantage of four days off in a row. Often it's the last of the summer weather, or the first of the winter blast.
This is the Easter break in New Zealand that most people recognise.
But it's not the same for everyone.
Today The Detail looks at two very different communities who are, at this time of the year, taking part in events that are of utmost significance to them.
Because they use different calendars, neither holiday is always aligned with the same dates as the Easter calendar - but this year, both are.
From the outside, St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church is unassuming, wedged between a petrol station and an empty timber yard in Beach Haven, on Auckland's North Shore.
Inside, it is a beautiful, colourful church decorated with carvings and paintings depicting saints and biblical scenes, all hand made and imported from Egypt.
The St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church is decorated with carvings and paintings depicting saints and biblical scenes, all handmade and imported from Egypt Photo: Alexia Russell
The 116 families who make up the congregation will be spending a considerable amount of time looking at these magnificent walls this weekend, as they mark Easter.
Last Sunday for example, which was Palm Sunday, the Church's liturgy was continuous prayer from 7.30am until 2pm. It marked the start of daily church attendance during Holy Week.
On 'The Great Friday' (Good Friday) the congregation gathers from 8am until 6pm, and during that time everyone fasts - no food or drink all day.
Fr. Bishoy Mekhaiel has been the parish priest there for the last 25 years. He says the name 'Easter' comes from pagan celebrations so the Coptic Orthodox Church prefers to call it 'The Glorious Feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ'.
The Church has its origins in Egypt, and is keeping the Coptic language alive. Its 32-letter alphabet is an adaptation of the Greek alphabet with the inclusion of seven characters from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Services are in English, Coptic and Arabic.
The 116-family St Mark's congregation is made up of largely Egyptians, many of them medical professionals or engineers, some students here from Australia or other parts of the world, and a small number of refugees.
Fr. Bishoy explains how the dogma of the church differs from, for example, Roman Catholics.
"For example, priesthood ... in our Church a priest has to be married. To tell you the truth I can't imagine my service without my wife. She's a big support in my service, and she's a big helper."
The Coptic Pope, Pope Tawadros II, is based in Cairo.
Easter here doesn't always line up with the western Church's calendar, and must be held after the Jewish Passover.
The other community we look at today is the Jewish community, with Rabbi Dean Shapiro from Beth Shalom: The Progressive Jewish Community of Auckland.
The Jewish Passover is not the same as the Christian Passover. It started Saturday evening with the Seder meal and finishes this Sunday.
Rabbi Shapiro says it's a festival of profound hope.
"In addition to the extraordinary story it tells, Passover is just great ritual. Families sit around a table; often extended family, often friends and neighbours as well; and we eat a story."
That happens through symbolic foods to remind the community of the Exodus story.
"We don't just retell it, we imbibe it," he says.
Along with the eating, there is singing and discussion, and some families have customs of acting out pieces of the story.
But if you think that holding a Seder meal as a non-Jew sounds like a great way to connect with the Jewish community, think again.
Christians who've been adopting a version of it at Easter have been told by both the Catholic and Anglican churches to stop, even if their motives are good.
Catholic scholars say Christianising the Seder is offensive partly because for centuries the principal threat to Jews was Christians. Christian symbolism shouldn't be superimposed on a practice central to Judaism.
And Rabbi Dean helped script a statement in conjunction with the Anglican Church saying the practice is disrespectful.
"Christianity draws on the Hebrew bible, certainly, for characters and stories and lessons.
"Some Christians ... believe that the Hebrew bible sets up Jesus' life and passion.
"Jews don't believe that. We believe that our culture stands on its own and exists for itself, and we don't believe that it has been superseded by Christianity," he says.
"Some Christians, for the best of reasons, because they want to draw close to the experience of Jesus, have adopted the practice of having a Passover Seder. They use the same rituals and ritual foods, but they change the meaning to support Christian ideology and theology, removing it from the Jewish context."
There is however one thing that both the Coptic church members and Jewish families have in common with everyone else in the country - there's no ban on chocolate eggs for the children, and they'll be enjoying that sugar rush along with many in the country.
Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.
You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
