Easter in October

It takes every single chocolate egg out there, and in my suburb there must be thousands upon thousands of them in the shops, to convince me that Easter is truly around the corner. As the leaves continue to change and fall with the shortening of the days, the proximity of Easter seems as incongruous as celebrating Christmas  in the midst of summer.  As a friend back home recently pointed out, however, Easter in autumn leads one to reflect more naturally upon Good Friday, and much as we prefer to celebrate new life and the resurrection, the death that preceded it is what makes new life possible.

There do appear to be several differences in the Easter holiday compared to North America beyond it falling in the opposite season.  It is to shopping in Australia what the Thanksgiving weekend is in America, namely the weekend that the most money is spent in stores.  The only Easter egg hunt I have seen advertised thus far is the one put on by the American Women's Association, but vast amount of chocolate eggs have already been consumed.  My kids began complaining several weeks ago that they were the only children without chocolate Easter candy in their school lunches.  I was inclined to not believe them at first, but I have since come to realize that they were likely not exaggerating very much.

For the most part I have ignored the piles of candy and wrapped eggs in the stores.  They started appearing the moment the Christmas decorations came down, and have caused multiple opportunities for James to be disappointed whilst out shopping with me.  Recently, however, a grandmother mentioned to me that this was the last Easter that she would purchase bilbies for her nearly grown grandchildren.  I wondered at first if she meant actual living animals, but she was referring to the Australian version of the chocolate bunny.  Bilbies are preferred especially by those who consider themselves green in protest of the devastating destruction caused by the introduction of the rabbit in the 19th Century.

Rabbits were brought to Australia in 1859 by an avid hunter from England.  Once released into wild, the rabbit population skyrocketed, leading to the fastest spread ever recorded of a mammal in the world.  Within a decade they had overrun the country, causing untold damage to vegetation and wildlife.  The green areas that they destroyed throughout the country will never be recovered.  Attempting to control them has proven extremely difficult, and they currently remain a threat to several species of wildlife, as well as a bane to farmers.

The bilby began to be promoted as an alternative to the chocolate bunny several decades ago, and has appeared in several children's books about Easter.  It is one of Australia's cutest marsupials, and also, unfortunately, one of the most endangered.  We have enjoyed watching it scurry around in the nocturnal section of our local wildlife sanctuary but will unlikely ever encounter one ourselves in the bush as it is exceptionally shy.  The male Greater Bilby is about the same size as a male rabbit, and competes with the rabbit for food. Bilbies are excellent diggers, and spend most of their time underground in tunnels.  For this reason, the female's pouch faces backward, preventing dirt from getting into it as she burrows.

Having been thus alerted to the existence of chocolate bilbies, I made an exception today at the grocery store and carefully examined the candy on offer.  Sophie spotted them right away, and successfully convinced me to allow her to place four in our trolley. Appropriately, the bunnies we found have happy, almost gleeful expressions, while the bilbies look rather mournful.

Here is an image provided by the Australian Bilby Appreciation Society:

Having purchased our weekly groceries at the cost of more money than I can bear to include in this blog, we had one last stop to make.  We must walk by a bakery after leaving the grocery store, and it is not very often that I manage to push the trolley past without stopping.  Today I intended to purchase only half a dozen scones, but Sophie spotted the Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns, and I figured that since I had already given in once, I may as well do so again.

Hot cross buns began appearing prominently in bakeries around the same time as the chocolate eggs. Traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday in Christian countries, they are now sold nearly year round. In Australia a chocolate version,  in which the chocolate chips replace the currants, has become quite popular.  The same mixture of spices is used, leading to a unique combination that the Wilkin crew agrees is quite nice.

There is more to be said on the subject of Easter down under, particularly with respect to the religious observances, but I will save that for a future post.  As I look out the window at the cold rain falling, I can almost imagine that I am looking out at springtime in Pittsburgh.

 

Comments

[Amy Smith]

Aw, the bilby is adorable! And the choc chip hot cross buns look divine! I so enjoy keeping up with your family on your blog!