Celebrating Easter, The Canadian Way

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!  In Canada it is hard not to since it is a long weekend for most, and we lucked out with fabulously warm weather Saturday (and everything is finally starting to bloom).  Since Good Friday is not typically a day off in the US, I was surprised to learn that it is one of five nationwide statutory holidays in Canada.  On top of that, many people also have Easter Monday off as well (statutory for federal employees only though some other businesses take the extra day as well) making it a nice, long four-day weekend.  I've come to find out that most things are closed Friday and Sunday with the exception of some restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries.  Luckily for those like me who haven't finished preparing for Easter, virtually all of the service industries in Toronto are open on Saturday (stores, restaurants, gym, dry cleaner, etc).

Since it is a long weekend for most, Easter is celebrated almost universally at least from the secular perspective.  In the US, I was trained not to say religious greetings to people since many people do not celebrate specific holidays so I always modify to be sure it is non denominational - like "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".  However, since Easter is almost universally celebrated in Canada, I was greeted with "Happy Easter" everywhere I went from Thursday to Sunday!  I have to admit it caught me off guard a bit after all my years of training myself not to say that to people if you are unsure if they celebrate the holiday.  

Other than being a long weekend that most celebrate, Easter seems to be celebrated here similarly to the US.  The stores were filled with baskets, candy, and decorations immediately following Valentines Day.  And most people seem to observe the day with church (for those who celebrate Easter), and/or a nice meal with family and friends. Coming out of our long, cold winter, for me it was a welcome celebration of spring!