How we celebrate Easter and why 2020 will be different
Traditionally, Easter in Australia is one of our most widely celebrated holiday periods, especially when it falls within the school break as is does this year.
People take road trips up the coast, attend church services, meet up with friends for their annual camping trip by the beach, families come together for a delicious seafood feast on Good Friday, shops are bursting with mums and dads buying Easter Eggs for the kids and over 800,000 people head to the Sydney Royal Easter Show as they have done for nearly two centuries. But that was before. Easter 2020 looks so very different.
For most of us, Easter holds treasured memories. Even if it wasn’t during school holidays, being a long weekend always meant everyone was relaxed and enjoying the break from work and and of course, chocolate bunnies and eggs have been a part of Easter for as long as I can remember. As I write this, childhood memories flood my brain.
We always went away to a farm with friends where we’d swim in the creek, horse ride and play outside from sunrise to sunset (maybe beyond dark if we played Spotlight). And, with plenty of rabbit poo around, there was proof the Easter Bunny was among friends when he came to deliver our goodies. I do hope our kids will still look back on this one as special – albeit very different to any other year.
Luckily our primary school shared this info about the Easter Bunny’s travel exemption this year…. download a copy here.
Here are some of the ways Easter 2020 is different…
Places of worship
We’re all aware that places of worship have closed to the public since March 23. However, churches and other places of worship can still conduct services if they adhere to the strict rules of social distancing and not exceeding the maximum number of people coming together, for example, the minister and someone filming the service. As a result, many churches will be live streaming across the Easter long weekend. A quick Google search brings up many options.
Shopping
Normally the car parks are jam-packed on Thursday before Easter because Good Friday is one of the few days all year that supermarkets are closed. People always goa bit mad (before we really knew what panic buying meant) and I’d think, ‘Coles is only closed for 24 hours, what’s all the fuss about?’
A couple of years ago I made the mistake of assuming I could get a few groceries somewhere on Good Friday. We’d been invited to a friend’s place for a big seafood lunch and planned to take cheese, nibbles and something for the kids. We’d left shopping until the morning of and had to turn up empty-handed – even the local servo was closed. Sorry kids, no chips! What dud guests we were although a couple of champagnes in, none of us gave it another thought.
This year, supermarkets will open for much of the day on Friday. Most will be observing holiday hours on Friday, Sunday and Monday. Additionally, many of the smaller operators will also open with their newly adapted styles of service, simply to keep money coming in in the hope of keeping their businesses afloat. Supermarkets expect to be busier than usual and this may result in controlling the number of people let into the store at any given period.
Seafood on Good Friday
Since many abstain from eating meat on Good Friday, this day has always been a big day of trade for those in the seafood industry. From your local fish and chip shop to the nearby Seafood Co-Op and the man in his van delivering delicious fresh prawns and other yummy crustaceans, they all thrived. That was before.
Please SHOP LOCAL and support your nearby fishmonger – not just this weekend but in the weeks ahead. It’s a challenging time for small businesses, especially in food and hospitality services. None of them will be enjoying the usual holiday trade that can see them through the quieter months of the year.
Hot Cross Bun Cake Recipe
Sure, we’re not going away like we planned or catching up with friends and family, but Easter can still mean Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns. Try this Hot Cross Bun Cake Recipe.
Easter Craft – Make Hollow Eggs
Facebook is flooded with great craft ideas for the kids to celebrate Easter. Here’s one we like. Create colourful Hollow Eggs this Easter by following these steps.
Ideas for Hunts
With local parks and playgrounds out of bounds, the usual Sunday morning hunt may look a little different this year. However, you can find terrific ideas to be found for backyard hunting. From the extra incentive of finding the golden egg, to scavenger hunts and glow in the dark eggs, this is the year for being a little more inventive with your home-based hunt. Here are 10 Easter Egg hunt ideas.
