NOTHING says Easter more than chocolate eggs and double demerits!

While the driving penalties will apply from 12.01am, April 6, and run through until 11.59pm on April 10, tradition has it that Easter eggs should be left intact until Easter Sunday. Good luck resisting that temptation. 

ACT and NSW Police say double demerits will apply to drivers and riders who are speeding, using their mobile phones, not wearing a seatbelt and/or riding without a helmet.

Someone in the office wasn’t sure what Easter was really about – eggs? rabbits? Jesus?

The “Encyclopedia Britannica” says: “Easter is one of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity. It marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion. 

“For many Christian churches, Easter is the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence. 

“The earliest recorded observance of Easter comes from the 2nd century, though it is likely that even the earliest Christians commemorated the Resurrection, which is an integral tenet of the faith.”

And the rabbits?

Wikipedia says the Easter Bunny is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, bringing Easter eggs. 

“Originating among German Lutherans, the ‘Easter Hare’ originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide,” the website says.

“As part of the legend, the creature carries coloured eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children.”

Apparently the custom was first mentioned in 1682, referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing eggs for the children.

And the eggs? 

Here’s “Britannica’s” take: “The egg was a widely used premodern and pre-Christian symbol of fertility and restoration. 

“The tradition of dyeing and decorating Easter eggs is ancient, and its origin is obscure, but it has been practised in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Western churches since the Middle Ages. 

“The church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week, and the notion of specially identifying those as Holy Week eggs brought about their decoration. 

“The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolised new life emerging from the eggshell.” The BBC says the first chocolate eggs appeared in France and Germany in the 19th century, but they were bitter and hard.

As chocolate-making techniques improved, hollow eggs were developed with Fry’s selling the first hollow chocolate Easter eggs in the UK in 1873.

Meanwhile, the Easter tradition of bunging up the price of petrol continues with local motorists being warned that petrol prices will creep up over the Easter long weekend, with prices likely to drift above $2 a litre. 

The NRMA has the usual advice, shop around because there’s 14-cent difference between the highest and lowest prices for a litre of regular unleaded. But beware: Costco, Canberra’s leader in cheap petrol, is closed Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

There’s no garbage collection on Good Friday, but the Friday wheelies will be emptied the following morning, Saturday, April 8 instead.

Public transport travellers will also be affected over Easter with buses defaulting to a Sunday timetable on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday. Trams will operate at a public holiday frequency, with services running every 15 minutes between 7am and 11pm.

Something else to consider… the weather.

Easter usually signals the start of the cooler period in Canberra, with temperatures averaging a maximum of 20C and a minimum of 7C. 

No surprises then to know this year is expected to be much the same. Weather25.com is forecasting a high of 22C and a low of 10C on Good Friday with, so far, no sign of rain.

Saturday and Easter Sunday look like reaching highs of 19C, but Saturday will reach a low of 9C and Sunday to reach 6C. Easter Monday should reach 17C from behind some clouds, with a low of 5C.

The ACT Libraries are all closed, including return chutes, but the national institutions are mostly all open, including on Good Friday. 

Among the other stuff to get out and enjoy, there’s: 

• The 2023 National Folk Festival at Epic, April 6-10, features headline acts Billy Bragg and The Waifs among the weekend spread of more than 145 artists.
• The Little Burley Markets on Lake Burley Griffin will open on Saturday from 9am with stallholders offering some Easter-themed specials and treats.

Research by Lily Pass