Easter - What It Means to Me

Hello!

Given we have this lovely chocolatey holiday upon us, I thought I would do a little post about it :)

What is Easter?

Easter celebrates Jesus' resurrection. He was crucified on Good Friday, and rose on Easter Sunday. In the Christian churches there is much celebration the preceding week - Palm Sunday, Maunday Thursday and Good Friday - and also marks the end of Lent, which is the 40 days before (excluding Sundays) starting on Ash Wednesday.

Easter Customs Around The World
Easter, like other religious holidays, is not restricted to the church. Some customs around the world include:
Central & Eastern Europe - decorating eggs.
Czech Republic/Slovakia - the men spank the women on Easter Monday. This is not intended to harm or cause pain, and it is believed that the women need to be spanked to retain their youth and beauty for the coming year. Sometimes women can get their revenge the next day by pouring buckets of cold water on the men. In Poland, an all day water fight ensues, known as Dyngus day.
Croatia/Slovenia - a basket of food is prepared and taken to the church to be blessed.
English speaking world - decorating eggs on Easter Saturday, then having an Easter egg hunt (which have been hidden by the Easter bunny of course) on Easter Sunday.
Hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday traditionally, the cross on top representing the crucifix. They are now eaten for a while before and after Good Friday.
Scotland/Northern Ireland/Northern England - rolling decorated eggs down steep hills
Bermuda - children fly kites to symbolise Christs ascent. Fish cakes are often eaten

No meat on Fridays?
During Lent, Christians are required not to eat red meat on Fridays, and especially Good Friday, in an act of penance. This is because meat is a staple of most meals, and was a considered a luxury as well. Fish is often eaten instead.

Personally, I don't partake in any religious acts throughout Easter, as I consider myself to be an athiest (as indicated by my previous claim that Jesus owned a microwave). I do love the chocolate side of it, but will try and restrain myself this time. I also don't eat seafood, so the fish on Friday thing is kind of lost on me.

This long weekend, I will be focusing on ANZAC day more than anything. ANZAC Day is the 25th April, coincidentally the same day as Easter Monday this year. As a result, Australia gets a 5 day weekend - Tuesday is also a public holiday. I will attend the Dawn Service in Kings Park on Monday morning, and will let you all know how that goes.

You've all heard before how proud I am to be an Australia, and ANZAC Day epitomises that. The concepts of mateship, diggers and courage came about with this tragic event and I believe it is one of the most important days in Australian culture.

Lest We Forget.