Orthodox Easter in Australia

Lamb is a popular Easter dish served among many Orthodox Christians in Australia. ©iStockphoto.com/Brett Mulcahy

What do people do?

Many Orthodox Christians in Australia celebrate Pascha according to the Easter date in the Julian calendar. Easter is the most important event in the church calendar. The Easter Sunday church services are joyous as they celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection, according to Christian belief, as well as spiritual victory.

Many Orthodox Christians in Australia fast during Lent prior to Easter. Easter Sunday is a time for families and friends to get together for a festive meal, where meat and dairy products can be eaten again. Lamb and tsourekia (or tsoureki), which is a type of Easter bread, are popular Easter dishes in many Greek Orthodox communities in Australia.

Traditional Easter egg games are also popular. Each person takes a dyed red egg and tries to crack other challengers’ eggs. This game symbolizes Jesus Christ breaking from his tomb. The person whose egg lasts the longest is assured good luck for the rest of the year. Some people bring dyed Easter eggs to church to be blessed at the Easter liturgy.

Special egg painting workshops for pysanky (special type of Easter eggs) are held in some cities, such as Sydney, prior to the Orthodox Easter date. These beautifully decorated eggs are customary in some eastern European countries such as the Ukraine. Many people are banned from setting off fireworks during the Easter celebrations. Fireworks can only be used by a licensed pyrotechnician in many places, such as the state of Victoria.

Public life

The Orthodox Christian date for Easter Sunday is not a federal public holiday in Australia. However, it is held on a Sunday, which is a non-school day and non-working day for many Australians. Sunday trading hours still apply in areas where there is Sunday trading, particularly in major cities. 

Background

Many Orthodox churches base their Easter date on the Julian calendar, which differs from the Gregorian calendar that is used by many western countries. Therefore the Orthodox Easter period often occurs later than the Easter period that falls around the time of the March equinox.

There are different types of Orthodox churches in Australia, including the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. There are many Greek Orthodox Christians in Australia. The federal government’s 2006 census recorded that there were 109,980 Greece-born people in Australia, with the largest numbers in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland. The census also showed that 100,460 Greece-born Australians are of the Eastern Orthodox faith.

Symbols

The Easter egg is hard-boiled and dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ. It was an important symbol connected with spring fertility rituals in many early civilizations. Many Greek Orthodox Christians rap their eggs against their friends' eggs and the owner of the last uncracked egg is considered lucky.

The Orthodox custom of decorating the round Easter bread with red eggs at the four edges of the cross on the bread dates back to around the 12th century. Another important symbol associated with Easter is the lamb. It is often depicted with a banner that bears a cross, and it is known as the Agnus Dei, meaning "Lamb of God" in Latin.

About Orthodox Easter in other countries

Orthodox Easter Observances

Related holidays

• Orthodox Good Friday–Friday, April 17, 2009
• Orthodox Holy Saturday–Saturday, April 18, 2009
• Orthodox Easter Monday–Monday, April 20, 2009

Other holidays in April 2009 in Australia

• Palm Sunday (Sunday, April 5, 2009)
• First day of Passover (Thursday, April 9, 2009)
• Maundy Thursday (Thursday, April 9, 2009)
• Good Friday (Friday, April 10, 2009)
• Holy Saturday (Saturday, April 11, 2009)
• Easter Day (Sunday, April 12, 2009)
• Easter Monday (Monday, April 13, 2009)
• Easter Tuesday (Tuesday, April 14, 2009)
• Last day of Passover (Thursday, April 16, 2009)
• Orthodox Good Friday (Friday, April 17, 2009)
• Orthodox Holy Saturday (Saturday, April 18, 2009)
• Orthodox Easter Monday (Monday, April 20, 2009)
• Yom HaShoah (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)
• Anzac Day (Saturday, April 25, 2009)
• Yom HaAtzmaut (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)

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