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April 08, 2007
Easter has changed. Good Friday is now just an ordinary public holiday--a secular holiday with shops and pubs open. Australia is no longer a Christian nation. Easter is about music festival and family days. Though not all experience this festivity --especially in the global city.
Though Easter is the most important of the Christian holidays---it celebrates the Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday--it is about not religious days. It has been replaced by the folklore mythology of Easter bunnies and baskets filled with chocolate and colored eggs. Easter Bunny and eggs go together?
Matt Golding
It is the easter Eggs that are a symbol of new life these days. Christ's resurrection is only for Christians. The Easter Bunny, as a sign of fertility also stands for the celebration of spring----it doesn't make sense in Australia, where it means celebrating the return of autumn.
In Australia, rabbits are an invasive species and generally considered pests. Why celebrate the Easter Bunny when new life in the form of rabbits cause such widespread ecological devastation that great efforts are continually being made to wipe them out? It's odd that the rabbit continues to remain the sign for treats as opposed to Easter Bilbies.
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Easter was always more a harvest festival in Australia anyway.