Whatever inspiration you’re after…. a new recipe to wow the family, a little bit of help making the perfect bed, styling a sideboard, some lifestyle articles or what’s new at Provincial, our Journal will bring you stories to brighten your day.
Easter in Australia – we love it – the entire country is in the mood to celebrate with a four day long weekend that hopefully allows us to enjoy the last of the warm weather. It signals the end of Summer and brings with it cooler weather to herald the arrival of Autumn and Winter.
Easter Traditions in Australia
The traditions we follow at Easter in Australia are a combination of religious celebrations, outdoor activities and culinary pursuits and are much the same as anywhere else in the world.
No matter where you live in Australia, there’ll be something special to get involved in. Numerous cultural and sporting events are planned – and sporting events are often a tradition in Australia. Easter shows can be found around Australia, but by far the largest and oldest (first held in 1823) Sydney in New South Wales has hosted the annual Royal Easter show and now the Easter racing carnival, there’s the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race, there are AFL and NRL matches, Tasmania holds the Three Peaks Race which involves sailing (down the west coast of Tasmania) and a running (up and down three mountains) race which sounds gruelling! If you’re looking for something a little gentler the National Folk Festival will be held in Canberra. There are also many Easter Egg hunts planned, so do a bit of investigating and find one near you and book to take the whole family – what a fun day!
What do Australians eat during Easter celebrations?
The choice of food eaten over Easter is a tradition that many people follow – some Easter food choices began with religious or cultural significance, while others are eaten because they are readily available or just plain delicious. There are some tasty – and relatively easy Easter recipes below that you may like to try.
Hot Cross buns – one of our favourite things about Easter! Traditionally these are eaten on Good Friday – but feel free to eat them all weekend! Do you favour traditional spiced hot cross buns, chocolate chips, apple and cinnamon or one of the other flavours that have become prominent in the last few years? Then there’s a second dilemma - how do you serve them? Straight out of the bag on the way home from the shops (no judgment!) toasted or warmed in the oven with lashings of butter? Do you buy them or make your own? If you have the time or the inclination, there’s nothing quite like the aroma of spiced hot cross buns baking in the oven – so here’s a delicious recipe to try.
Fish is a popular choice for Good Friday. In Australia we are spoilt for choice with all the wonderful seafood we have access to – so choose from prawns, oysters, or fish. Go to your local fish market and choose some fillets, or a whole fish or take the easy option and enjoy some fish and chips from your local shop – have a picnic, take them to the beach and eat them straight out of the packaging, or take them home and serve them on your best crockery - there’s no wrong way to eat fish and chips!
Lamb is a traditional choice for Easter Sunday and Australia has a long history with sheep. They were first introduced in the late 18th century, and they continue to play a crucial role in our agricultural sector for both the production of food and wool.
We suggest long, slow cooking for this festive recipe – there’s hardly any time needed in the kitchen, and you can serve it on a large platter in the middle of the table, so people can help themselves to a little or a lot! Make a couple of delicious salads ready to be dressed and the cook can enjoy all the celebrations too.
Chocolate Eggs or Easter Chocolates? Does it matter as long as it’s chocolate? I think we can agree to enjoy chocolate in all forms over Easter. Traditionally, Sunday is the time to have Easter egg hunts and enjoy eating eggs – but only if you can wait until Sunday!
The first mass-produced chocolate egg appeared in England in 1873 when Cadbury debuted its first Easter egg; by the early 1900s, milk chocolate eggs became widely available. Today, at Easter in Australia there are eggs, bunnies and the native Australian Easter bilby to enjoy! The Bilby is native to Australia whereas rabbits came to Australia with the First Fleet, so they would have rabbits to shoot for food – and unfortunately, they bred like rabbits and had a devastating effect on the habitat that the bilbies called home and running them out of their burrows while eating their food. So, the Easter bilby is getting revenge and slowly claiming popularity over the Easter bunny.
Easter Dessert – our popular flourless chocolate cake is a natural choice for Easter. – after all you can never have too much chocolate.
As you can see – there are many, many Easter traditions – so you can choose the ones you like – or start some of your own!
