Today is Easter Sunday. Many traditions — old and new — surround this day. For many, it’s a deeply religious affair. It follows Holy Week and serves as a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. For others, it’s a day of relaxation, spending time with family and watching as children hunt for eggs. For most, it’s a little of both.

“O” Foundation head Rose Powell said she doesn’t go to church on Easter Sunday.

“So many people go to church on Easter Sunday that don’t go through the year,” Powell said. “I give them my seat.”

Instead, Powell said she prefers to spend the day with family.

“There are six generations here in Brookhaven,” Powell said. “We visit my grandmother, along with my great-granddaughter at my grandmas house. She’s 95 and known to Brookhaven as the ‘chicken pie lady.’ We eat chicken pie on that day.”

Melanie Poole, mother of eight, has a big Easter egg hunt at her mother’s house.

“One dozen dyed eggs per child, and lots and lots of food,” Poole said. “Oh, and I make a bunny cake.”

Anthony Young of St. James Missionary Baptist Church said he would be playing the drums Easter Sunday. After that, he will be spending time with family.

“I enjoy this time of year,” Young said. “I enjoy Easter — listening to the kids. I remember when I was younger, doing that.”

Karen Jenkins, wife of Pastor Allen Jenkins of the Apostolic Lighthouse, said Easter events are a good opportunity for church outreach.

“We always push every year for a better number than we had last year,” Jenkins said earlier in the week. “We had 100 last year, so we’re looking forward to more than 100 for this coming up year.”

Jenkins said their church will host events on Easter Sunday, including two services, dinner, an egg hunt and a drama put on by the youth group.

“We’re going to have service at 12. We’re going to have dinner, an Easter egg hunt. Then at 2:30, we’re going to have worship service with an Easter program. We’re going to be there from 12 until probably 4 or 5 p.m.,” she said.

For Gregg Russell and United Methodist Church, the whole week leading up to Easter is a celebration.

“Our tradition starts on Palm Sunday, typically with a special church service,” Russell said. “It’s followed up with Maundy Thursday service at our church. We follow that up with a Good Friday service. We have a sunrise service Sunday morning at 7 a.m. Traditionally, a group of men feed the church after service.”

Brookhaven attorney Joseph Durr said his family’s Easter Sunday isn’t glamorous, but it’s special.

He and his wife Cheli do have an egg hunt for their two children, Brady and Elizabeth, but he said it’s more important to impart the true meaning of the holiday to his children.

“We try to teach them that it’s not about the Easter Bunny or the eggs. It’s about Jesus rising from the dead,” he said.

Durr said he is joined for Easter by his in-laws and parents.