Easter Sunday in Canada

Easter eggs are part of the Easter tradition in Canada. ©iStockphoto.com/VIKTORIIA KULISH

What do people do?

Easter is a religious holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his death by crucifixion. For Christians, Easter is a day of religious services and family gatherings. Easter Day is a popular day for attending church, getting together for a big family meal, and staging an Easter egg hunt. It is also a good time for people to decorate Easter eggs, join in Easter craft contests and to indulge in holiday recipes, such as mustard-crusted lamb and the Easter basket cake.

In Montreal, the Bal en Blanc’s main event is held every Easter Sunday, attracting thousands of partygoers every year.

Public life

Most businesses, government offices, banks and liquor stores are closed on Easter Sunday.

Background

In Pagan times, many groups of people organized spring festivals. Many of these celebrated the re-birth of nature, the return the land to fertility and the birth of many young animals. These are the origins of the Easter eggs that we still hunt for and eat.

In Christian times, the spring began to be associated with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The crucifixion is remembered on Good Friday and the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The idea of the resurrection became joined up with the ideas of re-birth in Pagan beliefs. The history of the Christian Easter has had a strong impact on Canadian culture.

Symbols

Easter candles are sometimes lit in churches on the eve of Easter Sunday. Some believe that these can be directly linked to the Pagan customs of lighting bonfires to welcome the rebirth or resurrection of the sun god.

Eggs of all types are an important symbol of Easter. They represent the rebirth of nature in the spring and the promise of new life in the spring and summer months to come and are seen as a reflection of the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. Easter eggs, whether they are made of chocolate or candy or are decorated hens eggs, are common gifts all over the world during Easter. However, the biggest Easter egg in the world is a representation of a Ukrainian Easter egg, known as a Pysanka, located in Vegreville, Alberta.

The Pysanka in Vegreville was constructed in 1974 to mark the centenary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and to celebrate Vegreville's strong links with the Ukraine. It is made of more than 2000 aluminium triangles fixed together with nearly 7000 bolts and 177 internal struts. The egg is more than 25 feet (nearly eight meters) in diameter and is decorated with a gold, silver and bronze design. Its construction represented significant advances in computer modeling, mathematical theory, architectural design and engineering construction.

Easter Sunday Observances

Related holidays

• Good Friday–Friday, March 21, 2008
• Easter Monday–Monday, March 24, 2008

Other holidays in March 2008 in Canada

• Daylight Saving Time starts (Sunday, March 9, 2008)
• Commonwealth Day (Monday, March 10, 2008)
• Palm Sunday (Sunday, March 16, 2008)
• St. Patrick's Day (Monday, March 17, 2008)
• St. Patrick's Day (Monday, March 17, 2008)
• Maundy Thursday (Thursday, March 20, 2008)
• Vernal equinox (Thursday, March 20, 2008)
• Prophet's Birthday (Thursday, March 20, 2008)
• Purim (Friday, March 21, 2008)
• Good Friday (Friday, March 21, 2008)
• Holy Saturday (Saturday, March 22, 2008)
• Easter Monday (Monday, March 24, 2008)

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