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Happy Easter! Three days after Good Friday is a nation-wide holiday in Canada called, Easter Monday. In addition to its counterpart, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday is a special day that commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection three days after he died on the cross. As such, this day marks the moment that Jesus died for humanity’s sins, defeated death and then rose again to declare salvation for the world.

Celebration of this holiday varies, as it often depends on a person’s belief system. Some might spend this day, and/or the weekend before, with family and/or friends, attending an Easter service or mass at church, reading about Easter in the Bible, dyeing Easter eggs, doing Easter egg hunts, exchanging Easter baskets or other gifts, watching Easter-themed movies or specials of their favourite shows , and/or completing the day with an evening feast.

Some common foods that are consumed on Easter in Canada include:

• ham

• turkey

• lamb

• fish

• boiled eggs

• salads

• hot cross buns

• Paska bread

• carrot cake

• pie

• chocolate eggs and bunnies

• jelly beans

• red wine and/or grape juice

• and much more…!

In addition to these special foods, there are a variety of decorations that are put out leading up to the Easter holidays, each of which symbolize an aspect of the Easter season:

• flowers, especially tulips and Easter lilies

  • symbolize new beginnings

• grass

  • symbolizes new beginnings

• cross

  • symbolizes Jesus Christ’s sacrifice

• lamb

  • symbolizes innocence and Jesus Christ’s sacrifice

• eggs

  • symbolize rebirth

• chicks

  • symbolize rebirth

• rabbits

  • symbolize renewed life

• baskets

  • symbolize hope and blessings

• and much more…!

Do you celebrate Easter? What does your Easter Monday or Easter weekend typically look like? Is this a new holiday to you? Let me know in the comments below.

To learn about more Canadian holidays, including vocabulary related to these holidays, check out the Holidays link in the Tags section of our blog.

ATTRIBUTION

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Rod Long on Unsplash.

Roasted Turkey photo courtesy of Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash.

Deviled Eggs photo courtesy of Tahirah Walker on Unsplash.

Hot Cross Buns photo courtesy of Seriously Low Carb on Unsplash.

Carrot Cake photo courtesy of Steward Masweneng on Unsplash.

Chocolate Eggs photo courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

Red Wine photo courtesy of Roberta Sorge on Unsplash.

Tulips photo courtesy of Photo by Uljana Borodina on Unsplash.

Easter Lily photo courtesy of Matt on Unsplash.

Cross photo courtesy of Yannick Pulver on Unsplash.

Lamb photo courtesy of Photo by Sulthan Auliya on Unsplash.

Chicks photo courtesy of Karim MANJRA on Unsplash.

Basket photo courtesy of Kat Med on Unsplash.

Worship Service photo courtesy of Memento Media on Unsplash.

Dyed Easter Eggs photo courtesy of Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

Easter Egg Hunt photo courtesy of Gabe Pierce on Unsplash.