MEL GIBSON’S film The Passion of the Christ may have spelled out the religious significance of Easter but for record numbers of Scots it is increasingly becoming a time for something different: the first sunshine break of the year.
More than a quarter of a million travellers were expected to pass through Scotland’s airports over the Easter weekend with more people than ever taking advantage of cheap flights and bargain breaks.
Despite the recent terrorist attacks, Spain was
proving to be one of the most popular destinations for Scots.
But Scotland was also proving to be a major draw for tourists, particularly from south of the Border, with Edinburgh the most popular destination for a short-haul break on a British Airways flight.
Church leaders admitted that the holiday was becoming increasingly secular and the Episcopalians warned it would be "unfortunate" if people lost sight of the true meaning of Easter.
Professor Ian Torrance, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, said the situation was "a worry", but added that the religious message of Easter had not been drowned out to the same extent as that of the "commercialised" Christmas festival.
In a further sign of the secularisation of the holiday, authorities in Edinburgh have unveiled proposals to break for the Easter holidays in the first two weeks of April - even if the Easter Sunday falls outside this period. It is thought this might be better academically as well as "socially", helping families arrange holidays together.
The airport operator BAA estimated that more than 102,000 passengers would pass through Edinburgh airport over the five-day Easter break, with about 100,000 travelling through Glasgow airport. Aberdeen was also expecting record numbers.
Edinburgh airport’s managing director, Richard Jeffrey, said: "Easter weekend is always a busy period for Edinburgh airport and we expect this year to be even busier, with the launch of new domestic and international services."
A BAA spokeswoman said Edinburgh traffic tended to be holidaymakers going on city breaks to places such as Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin, while much of Glasgow’s business was charter flights heading for the Mediterranean resorts.
"Traditionally Easter is not a particularly busy time for the Scottish airports. The English tend to celebrate Easter more than the Scots," she said. "However we do expect to see the number of people travelling to be greater than usual. We are experiencing an increase and we’re expecting it will be markedly up on last year."
The top destination for Scots, according to travel agent Thomas Cook, was Tenerife, followed by Fuerta Ventura, Paris, Cyprus and the Algarve. The Spanish costas - Blanca, Dorada and del Sol - also made the top ten. A spokeswoman for the travel agent said these were all traditional favourites for Scots, but added: "Paris is quite high up this year. I suppose spring in Paris and all that romantic stuff must be popular.
"Across the UK, Florida is the fifth most popular destination, but it doesn’t show up in the Scottish top ten."
The Association of British Travel Agents said cheaper flights overseas meant people were increasingly going abroad for even short breaks.
"It is going to be a record Easter weekend, but we’re no longer surprised when a record is set. Easter falls on a school holiday and it’s the time when weather in Europe starts to improve," a spokesman said.
"The kids are off, the weather is fine and it’s generally cheaper now to go abroad than to stay in the UK - unless you stay at home."
Raymond McMillan, the sales director of the small Glasgow-based firm Air Scotland, said it was carrying 1,400 passengers this weekend - compared to 800 last Easter - to places such as Barcelona, Palma and Majorca.
"We look at the other airlines and there doesn’t seem to be much availability at all. The flights are full," he said.
"We’re getting to the second week of the holiday, and parents will be getting fed up with the kids and they just want to get them away into the sun and the swimming pool."
Church leaders stressed the importance of Easter in the religious calendar.
Prof Torrance said it was "at the heart of Christian belief".
"I think the secularisation of the great Christian festivals is always a worry for the Church," he said.
But he added: "I really don’t believe the message of Easter has been swamped by the kind of commercialism we see at Christmas.
"I can understand that many people go on holiday at the spring break, but that’s quite a different thing from the wholesale commercialism which you see at Christmas."
A spokesman for the Scottish Episcopal Church said: "It would be unfortunate if people lost sight of the importance of Easter.
"Easter is becoming a very popular time for people to take holidays abroad. Our hope is that people use their holiday time to reflect on the importance of faith."
He said Edinburgh’s move towards fixed holidays was a further sign of the increasing secularisation of Easter.
As well as the exodus of Scots, thousands of tourists were expected to be coming in the opposite direction.
BA said Edinburgh was its most popular short-haul destination, with Glasgow in third place behind Geneva.
