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About 200 people attended a warm, sunny Easter in the Yard celebration Saturday afternoon, an event the Campus Ministry Association organized to emphasize the spiritual meaning of Easter.

For many people, the Easter holiday triggers a nostalgic feeling of childhood surrounded by a celebrate with bunnies, chocolate, eggs and baskets in a variety of pastels. But Justin Hollimon, organizer of the event and member of the Campus Ministry Association, said he wanted to get the “true message of Easter” out to the students.

The Christian organizations set up tables in University Yard and gave out educational information. Michael Mathew, a local minister in D.C. also spoke.

“Easter is the bedrock of Christian faith. This message can’t get lost in the commercialization of today,” Hollimon said.

The Intervarsity Christian Foundation, University Christian Fellowship, Word Up, Student Association, and Program Board worked with the Campus Ministry Association to encourage students to understand the religious background of the popular holiday.

The event served as a way to unite various Christian groups. “It was a good idea and a key event for Christian groups,” said Rebecca Rewald, a freshman in the Elliott School of International Affairs.

The organizations had free food and beverages, a gospel choir who performed an interpretive dance and a spoken word performance. Agape Campus Minister George Wang also attended and helped by grilling at the event.

Hosting events like Saturday’s gives University Christian Fellowship “more of a face on campus,” said Homere Whyte, a sophomore in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. “I enjoyed different groups working together,” he said.

Although many of the students who attended to the event are from Christian backgrounds, the event was a great way to “unify the student body,” said Dani Richards, president of the IVCF. “It’s a learning opportunity that involved a lot of work and every year onwards it will become more streamlined,” Richards said.