How many days will there be in Australia's Easter holiday in 2020?

How many days will there be in Australia's Easter holiday in 2020?

In Australia, because it is located in the southern hemisphere, Easter is in autumn. Unlike the northern hemisphere, Easter in Australia is not accompanied by spring, but a harvest season. Nevertheless, the religious significance of Easter has been preserved. In Australia, Good Friday and Easter are national holidays. At the same time, except Western Australia and Tasmania, Easter Saturday is also designated as a legal holiday. Easter is a legal holiday in New South Wales.

Therefore, the Easter holiday in Australia in 2020 will generally last for four days, from Good Friday to Monday after Easter, that is, the holiday will last from April 10 to April 13, in which April 12 is Easter time.

Introduction to Easter

In Europe and America, Easter is the most important holiday after Christmas. According to the Bible-Matthew, Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected three days after his death, thus establishing Easter.

Easter is to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus and is also the most important festival in Christianity. According to the Bible, Jesus, the son of God, was born in a manger. When he was thirty, he chose twelve students and began to preach. In three and a half years, he cured diseases, preached, exorcised ghosts, helped people in need and told people the truth of the kingdom of heaven. It was not until the time appointed by God that Jesus Christ was betrayed by the disciple Judas, captured and interrogated by Roman soldiers, and crucified. Before he died, he predicted that he would be resurrected in three days. Sure enough, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead! According to the Bible, Jesus Christ is the incarnated Son. He came to the world to atone and become the scapegoat of the world, which is why Easter is so important.

How to spend Easter in Australia

As a traditional festival in the west, Easter has become an important festival here with adventurers coming to Australia and quickly taking root here. On the occasion of the festival, a grand Easter parade will be held all over Australia.

The parade was led by floats, followed by endless procession stretching for miles. The parade begins at sunset every day. By then, dozens of floats will gather in the central square. Floats have different shapes and are decorated with flowers, colored silk and lanterns.

Each float carries idols of the Holy Spirit, mostly historical figures of the Egyptian dynasty and ancient Rome; In addition, it also includes temples, pillars and altars, statues of faces and beasts, guards and armor on horseback, and so on. Some floats promote the story of the Bible, and dozens of clergy dress up in different roles, vividly showing the life story of Christ until he was crucified.

Behind the flower motorcade is a huge parade composed of thousands of people, many of whom are voluntary ascetic monks. Wearing purple or black robes that only show their eyes, barefoot, wearing heavy shackles and carrying crosses, they walked slowly and difficultly.

The parade will last for several hours and end at night. During the festival, every family should make sacrifices and pray. The indispensable dishes on the holiday table are roast suckling pig and roast mutton.

Easter in Adelaide

In Adelaide, Australia's fifth largest city, when it comes to Easter, we must mention the main immigrants here-Greeks, because for Greeks, Easter celebrations are even bigger than Christmas, and their celebrations are very special.

"Cyber Monday"

"Clean Monday" begins 40 days before Easter, and traditional Orthodox believers should fast for 40 days from "Clean Monday" to Easter to "clean up" the filth in their bodies and souls. 40 days of fasting is very particular. You can't eat fish, meat, cheese, eggs and other foods, and you have to give up one of your favorite things in these 40 days, such as your favorite chocolate or smoking.

Easter weekend

On Saturday morning, preparations for the Easter night banquet began, and there is usually the famous magiritsa soup (mutton offal soup).

The night before Easter

The climax of Greek Easter celebrations is Easter Eve, and there is a big ceremony in the church in the evening. Mass at midnight on Saturday is grand and solemn. People dressed in black robes and holding white candles gathered in the church, and the priests dispersed and lit the sacred light. Later, when the hymn "Christos Nesti" was sung, people exchanged wishes.

All the lights went out before midnight, and then the news of Jesus' resurrection came from the depths of the church, symbolizing that the flame of resurrection was raised. People pass candles to each other and solemnly say to each other: Christos Nesti! Alitos Nesti! Jesus has risen! Really resurrected! After midnight, people gathered in the restaurant.

This night's feast is very rich, first of all, the mutton offal soup Magiritsa, followed by the roast mutton offal soup Kokoretsi and the roast mutton Arinaki, and people beat eggs with each other to win the lottery. People who fasted for forty days celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with a feast.

On the morning of Easter Sunday, the Greeks in Adelaide finally ushered in a delicious carnival. On this morning, the tradition of Greek immigrant families is to roast lambs, and the festive atmosphere is everywhere. People often eat, drink and dance until late at night.