I am a bit too excited about Easter. I can’t help it. It is by far the most superior commercially bastardised religious holiday. Here’s why:

1. It’s less stressful  

The things I like about Christmas: food, trees, decorations and alcohol. Aside from those, Christmas to me feels a bit like doomsday. You have to rush to the supermarket, buy presents and catch up with EVERYONE before a cut off date. That date being December 25. Then on December 25 you often have to schlep from house to house and feel guilty about the family you aren’t seeing. There is always the chance of family flare ups and cracking from the sheer pressure of making the day perfect. No thanks. Also I hate the gift giving thing and actually wrote a blog post about it before Christmas last year, but I never published it for fear people would think I’m a Scrooge. Well the truth is out. I’m a scrooge.

Easter on the other hand, has all the delicious food and drinks without the expectations (or presents). How perfect.

2. Chocolate

Solid Easter eggs are God/Cadbury’s gift to us all. The varieties of chocolate eggs are endless AND you have free reign to eat them for at least a week before and after Easter. You can also get really creative with chocolate Easter themed desserts. Last year I made hot cross bun bread and butter pudding, creme egg brownies and chocolate eggs stuffed with cheesecake. This year I think I’m going to make a creme egg cheesecake.

3. Hot cross buns

I feel like part of the excitement of HCBs has been diminished by the fact you can now buy them on January 1. However, they are still so damn good. They smell incredible and again, with so many varieties there are options for people who aren’t into sultanas: chocolate, fruit-less or apple anyone? I can’t say I’ve ever been tempted to bake my own, even though there is a strong tradition of doing so in my family. One day maybe.

4. It’s cooler (generally, in Australia)

Christmas smacks Australia in the face with the force of a thousand suns. And still we persist with our roast meats and oven baked desserts. Sweaty. But Easter is generally a more cosy time of the year. I have fond memories of camping over the Easter long weekend as a kid and freezing overnight in my sleeping bag before getting up and being greeted with eggs in brightly coloured foil near my tent. The days would be sunny and crisp and we would try (and fail) at melting our chocolate eggs near the campfire. Bliss.

5. You can opt out

Christmas, I imagine, must be a lonely time for people who for whatever reason choose not to celebrate. But with Easter, there is absolutely no expectation to attend a social gathering, a dinner, a lunch or a church. For many it’s just an awesome 4 days off work, and that’s great. Christmas could certainly learn a thing or two from its perceived lesser cousin, Easter.

Are you sold on Easter yet? What are your plans?