Published in On Our Selection News April 17, 2014

Easter is an interesting holiday.

There aren’t a lot of rules in place. I mean, if you’re reasonably devout there’s the classic don’t eat red meat and be generally quite sombre on the Friday, but if you’re perhaps a little more lax then things become very vague. The big dilemma is whether or not you’re supposed to hang around with the family, and what day this should be happening. A rising trend (and by “rising trend”, I mean I’ve noticed a similarity amongst the few friends I’ve spoken to about it) is that young adults are being let down by their parents’ lack of planning for the big occasion.

Gone are the days of large family gatherings and the tell-tale signs of a small, hopping mammal who kindly leaves chocolate treats (clearly the Easter Bunny is less sloppy these days). We are now in the days of tired parents who either just want to sleep or spend time together as a couple. During one of my most recent Easters, my parents and little sister decided to go up to the beach, leaving the house empty and me, my sister and her boyfriend alone to celebrate The Resurrection the only way we knew how – roasting three kilos of lamb and eating until we were struck with the meat sweats.

A real problem is that Easter is a sneaky holiday – for some reason we never really see it coming. With Christmas it’s pretty easy – people plan for that months in advance. There’s even Christmas carols to remind you that it’s coming up. No one can make the graphic details of a crown of thorns, possible back splinters and that whole nail thing into a joyful little tune played in shopping centres. Parents usually pull the holiday together when their offspring are in school, but as soon as said offspring start pretending to be adults, the lines are blurred. Who is supposed to plan these occasions? One year I took it upon myself to prepare an Easter seafood extravaganza, but the only plans I have in place for this year involve a hot cross bun bacon sandwich for breakfast and comfortable pants. Perhaps we are all getting slack in our old age?