Christians upset as Egyptian government ignores Easter
Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly did not declare Easter an official holiday, upsetting many Egyptian Christians and human rights organizations.
![Coptic Easter Mass](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2021-05/GettyImages-668914238.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=o9tBXCWA)
CAIRO — On May 2, Christians in Egypt celebrated Easter amid tensions caused by the statements of Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly in which he did not declare the day as an official holiday for state workers.
On April 28, Madbouly announced the official holidays for the beginning of May, saying, “The government decided to consider May 1 a holiday on the occasion of Labor Day, May 2 a day off to prevent overcrowding for fear of the spread of COVID-19 and May 3 as the Egyptian national holiday of Sham al-Nessim.” Sham al-Nessim celebrates spring.