Easter always calls for a grand celebration and is considered one of the most significant celebrations in the Christian calendar. Usually associated to spring and new birth, this significant event marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Just like rest of the world, the Easter traditions in Australia are quite unique. Celebration of Easter calls for the beginning of the autumn season as spring does not occur in the month of April in Australia. The Easter celebrations in Australia begin with Shrove Tuesday and ends with Whitsun. During the 50-day long celebration, the Australians observe a host of rituals like Pancake Day when they host pancake races, hog on hot cross buns, play egg-hunt and host Easter shows. Another interesting thing about the Easter in Australia is that unlike other places where Easter Bunny is esteemed highly, the Aussies deem the rodent symbol as a bad omen since. In fact, they use a fictional rodent called 'Easter Bilby' as their main Easter symbol. Easter is usually declared as a public holiday in Australia. Read below to know more about the Easter celebration in Australia.
Here are some ideas about Easter celebration in Australia:-
Here are ideas about Easter customs and traditions followed in Australia. Read about Easter celebration in Australia.
Easter Traditions In Australia
- In Australia, Easter is celebrated in the autumn season unlike other Northern hemisphere countries, where Easter falls in the springtime.
- Easter celebration in Australia encompasses of church prayers, Easter bilby and not to forget, the brightly colored Easter eggs.
- The specialty of Easter in Australia lies in the hosting of a unique agricultural show in Sydney known as “the Royal Easter Show”, where the nation's best produce is exhibited. It also consists of displays of farm animals. Other highlights include firework, hosting of parades, joy rides, delicious food and other fun activities for kids.
- Easter is a time for family gatherings. Men and women get together and have a gala time.
- In Australia, instead of the rabbit, Bilby is considered to be one of the major symbols associated with Easter festivity. The reason of bunny rabbit being replaced by Bilby is that, the bunny rabbit is reported to have destroyed the agricultural crops.
- In the reservoir of games, the hot favorite game is Egg Knocking.
- Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day marks the beginning of the Easter traditions in Australia. It is interesting to note that a lot of sharing and selling of pancakes takes place on the Easter day by many Australian volunteer groups and communities.
- The preparation of 'Hot Cross Buns' with dried fruit raised with yeast or a simple mixture of flour and water is what follows the ritual.
- The 'Easter Bilby' takes away all the limelight in the celebrations. It is made on the lines of an endangered native Australian animal. The Bilby is a small rodent with a long nose and has ears just like a rabbit.
- There are various Easter festivals that are celebrated in Australia, which include 'Perth International Arts Festival' film festivals, and 'Sydney Royal Easter Show', which is an annual show that features the diversemulti-cultural heritage of the nation to the liveliness of the city life. Adventure sports always lead amongst all the social events as they draw the maximum crowd and attention from all sections of the Australian population.
- In Australia, the Easter celebration commences on Good Friday which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and is considered as a day of mourning. It ends on the Easter Monday, which marks the reincarnation of Jesus.
- A lot more other cultural events take place in different cities of Australia like the National Folk Festival in Canberra, the Australian Gospel Festival in Queensland and Blues and Roots Festival at Byron Bay in Northern New South Wales.
- Many families play Easter hunt amongst themselves wherein the hunt is to take place inside homes or gardens and the kids are put to the task of hunting for eggs. The game ends with rewarding the kid who finds the maximum number of eggs.
- To share the Easter meal with relatives is one of the important tradition in Australia. This meal generally consists of roasted lamb, beef or chicken along with roasted vegetables like potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, etc.