It was just Easter here in the Western world, and it was Easter in China, too. The fact that it's Easter is becoming more worth mentioning in the Chinese press. I've previously alluded to the recent resurgence in religion among the no-longer-quite-so-Communist nation. There are 300 million believers of one flavor or another in China, and a fair number of them are Christian.

Here's part of what the China Post says:

"We are seeing more and more college students coming to our services," said Father Andrew Liu Wenming, priest at St. Joseph's Church in China's populous southwestern city of Chongqing.

"They are seeking faith in religion, but they are also drawn by a desire to learn more Western knowledge."

Liu is 42 years old, making him a spring chicken compared to most priests in these parts, and his diocese has 220,000 members.

That's a lot of Catholics. His church (although not really in communion with the Vatican, since it's part of the government-approved Chinese Catholic church) is mighty packed, too:

On any given Sunday, up to 1,000 worshipers attend services at St. Joseph's, but in the past few years that number has more than doubled for Christmas and Easter mass, he said, adding that most of the newcomers are young.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Pope Benedict baptized and confirmed two Chinese women during his Easter Vigil Mass. During a later service, he also gave Easter greetings in 62 different languages, which seems like quite the feat.

Last year around this time, I was getting ready to meet Son (son!). Since we arrived after Easter, I never got a chance to see -- were there Easter bunnies in China the way there are Santa Clauses? I mean, at Christmas time, Chongqing was rife with red coats and fake white beards. But now -- bunnies and eggs? Anyone?

Because it seems like Chinese things were popular in Australia's Easter this year....