AIBU to think that Easter is very English?

[SodaStreamy]

It is though isn't it?

England shuts down for 4 days .....Scotland doesn't

Why change the tv schedule .....I wanted to watch this monring but it's off 'for Easter'

I went to England 8 year ago on Easter Sunday and it was shut! England was shut not a single shop open

Talkinpeace I haven't but I would like to see what they are like. The way she talks about it makes it sound very interesting, if I am ever visiting her on the right day I will go along. She's certainly become a much happier person since finding the Quakers.

Blimey! I can still buy a beer in the hotels in Oman!

When I lived in Northern Germany, it was more about the Easter Bunny, and saw loads of chocolate bunnys in the shops

*LadyBea.

I wasn't suggesting you called it anything, just asking really.
Another poster said its just friday, saturday, sunday and monday. Which tbh seems a bit obvious now.

Massive holiday here in Cyprus where they are Greek Orthodox, I would say on a par with Christmas. 5 day long weekend too.

And our Easter is late this year, Good Friday is on 3rd May.

Snooky
but of course yours is not for another month ....

Someone said up thread that the shops in London will be open on Sunday

Well if they are over 3000sq ft they won't!

Corner shops only on Sunday

@ Sodastreamy Sorry I went to church so didn't see your question. It has been answered by loads of others though!

I'm in Scotland and all shops were open a usual today and will be n Monday, but not banks and council-run facilities.

Good Friday is a holiday here but Easter Monday isn't.

It seems odd to ask what atheists call easter. It is more remarkable that christians use the term 'easter' for what they consider a religious festival, as I always understood the name to be derived from an ancient fertility goddess.

Anyway, interesting to learn that schools being open in scotland is linked to presbetyrianism. My mum actually mentioned this morning when she saw the schools in Angus were open 'they must be very protestant up there' - seems mother knows best, as usual.

Presbyterians and others of the Reformed Christian traditional have not celebrated Easter, Christmas and other church festivals because of the regulative principles of worship (only things actually commanded in the Bible are allowed in public worship) as Sarahtigh said upthread.
So as Scotland was historically a presbyterian country these festivals were not celebrated although a bit of folk tradition did remain which is where egg-rolling comes from I think. As the country has become more secular and more influenced by other cultures, Easter and Christmas have been celebrated more and this is true of the main presbyterian Church of Scotland.
I think this is why the amount of celebration, holiday etc varies throughout the country. Along with the fact that Scotland doesn't have the wholesale Bank Holiday tradition that England does.

Smaller, more traditional presbyterian churches in Scotland have continued not to celebrate church festivals. However though they may not celebrate Easter that does not mean that they do not celebrate the cruxifiction and resurrection of Christ. Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection that is why churches have services on Sunday.

Incidentially Wee Free is a fairly insulting term for the Free Church of Scotland.

Jehovah's Witnesses do some Easter Passover thing after sundown - it was last Tuesday.

^was invited but slightly terrified worried that I was being recruited.--

I am in England and we have the first two weeks of April off school regardless of when Easter falls too, as do the adjoining counties/authorities.

Well, I'm in Scotland and Easter is prominent here. I have today and Monday off.

Nothing to do with protestant/catholic (yawn) shite.

Two of our public holiday days for the year

And on Sunday, we will be rolling our eggs

The pubs close by midnight on Holy Thursday in Ireland and don't open until Saturday.

Alcohol can't be sold anywhere.

I was in mainland Europe this time last year, Easter was a really big deal over there, much more so than here where all the shops were open today.

And we have this legend of St Patrick at Easter which I've always liked but reading in now reminds me of Harry Potter and his Patronus [bugrin]

"On Easter night long ago it was forbidden to light any other fire in Ireland until after the lighting of the High King's own bonfire. When the High King saw that Saint Patrick was lighting the fire he sent a warband to kill the Saint and quench the fire. But the fire could not be quenched and Saint Patrick and his followers passed the warriors in disguise of a herd of deer and they went onto defeat the royal druids at Tara in a contest of miracle working. Many of the King's court bowed down to Saint Patrick and were converted, even though the High King was not one of these he did grant the Saint free speech and the right to preach freely to the people of Ireland." (from HistoryofStPatrick website).

I thought it was until I went to Cyprus (greek end) one Easter, it's actually not very English at all.

Even 'english' bank holidays aren't what they were (religion aside... it's actually easy to do, even at Easter) seeing as most places are open at some point.

The Easter Bunny wasn't really a BIG THING in my childhood, that's been brought over from the US I think.

I'm from a small village in the SW on England so the religious and the traditional, and cultural have always overlapped... now the Church is a chorus line to a more modern local cultural and modern tradition, I suppose it differs all over. Easter and Spring and Pagan tradition have merged with school holidays. Just like Christmas has. I have no problem with it, being agnostic, don't mind if Christians want to keep their celebrations 'clean'but never thought how if differed to other UK countries.

Thank you, flip. I was worrying that everyone thought we were heathens up here!

Really Clayhead ? Which county? Only I am a teacher and have worked in 4 different local authorites and have friends in many more and I don't know any with a fixed Easter break. In fact, the movable Easter break is a regular topic of discussion with people wanting to change the term pattern.

You think ENGLAND shuts down?

You have never been to Norway.

The week before Easter is called The Quiet Week. Most offices close. The day before Good Friday is super holy, and Every thing is closed on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays. Grocery shops are open saturday morning 10-15. All restaurants, pubs, clubs, wine bars, wine shops, corner shops, are closed.
You might find one or two petrol stations open.

Town centers are deserted.

Easter is huge in most European countries. My DC has two weeks holiday. It's a longer and more religious holiday here (Switzerland) than Christmas.

We don't celebrate the key dates afterwards in the UK either (eg ascension day) as they do in France, Germany, Switzerland.

Apart from twinkly lights there are just as many decorations - a billion candles in egg shapes and wicker chickens.

Ascension is also a bank holiday in Norway, along with Pentecost.

Sorry, mawheest, didn't mean to be insulting, just that with an ancestor who came out at the Disruption (spending the first night under a hedge and the next few in a barn with wife, bairns including newborn ) that's what we've always called The Free Church.

But quite right to pick me up and I won't use it on MN.