Monday 17 March, 2008

Feasts aplenty: Easter and St Patrick's Day

A movable Christian holiday, Easter falls around the vernal equinox in March. Its date is calculated according to church-constructed tables and can vary from March 22 to April 25. To find out more about how the date is calculated and Easter traditions, see our Easter backgrounder.

Easter has many traditions, which spring from the variety of celebrations marked around this time of year in many different cultures. For some, it is they year's most important religious observance. For others, it is a time for sharing and giving gifts. Eggs, rabbits, chocolate and hot cross buns all have their place in the rich diversity that is the modern Easter tradition.

For further information see: Falk, Nancy E. Auer. "Easter." from the World Book Online Reference Centre [accessed from Christchurch City Libraries] 10 March 2008.

St Patrick's Day

March 17 has become the day when Irish communities around the world celebrate their culture. Music, dancing, parades, traditional food and drink plus plenty of good “craic” are on offer in many places. Read more about St Patrick in our backgrounder.

Eastercamp

Eastercamp takes place at Spencer Park. Run by Canterbury Youth Services, a registered charitable trust based in Christchurch, youth groups from all over the South Island take part - last year 3,600 campers attended.

Easter hours at Christchurch City Libraries

In New Zealand, both the Friday before (Good Friday) and the Monday after Easter Sunday are statutory public holidays. This year, our libraries will be closed on Easter Sunday, as well as the statutory days of Good Friday and Easter Monday. See our Easter hours page.

Teens can win cellphones on pulse

Young people aged 13 to 18 can also win some fantastic prizes in the pulse digital photo competition. There’s two vodafone cellphones with $500 credit and three Telecom cellphones with $50 credit up for grabs – plus airtime vouchers as consolation prizes. Just send us a photo of your favourite place – where you went on holiday, a park, a beach – and go in the draw to win. It’s that easy!
Visit the pulse flickr to get ideas.

We recommend: Easter and St Patrick's Day resources

Our online resources:

Easter events from localeye
Our Easter backgrounder
Library hours over Easter
Rubbish and recycling collection information for public holidays
City Council Leisure Centre hours over Easter
Christchurch Scenic Drive Guide - from the Christchurch City Council
CINCH has listings for church groups and groups with an Irish connection
localeye lists Irish bars in Christchurch
Easter Rising 1916 - our backgrounder
Miss Roberts in the 1908 Easter Golf Tournament at Shirley Links - photograph
Easter Monday in Cathedral Square - photograph
St Patrick's Day backgrounder
St Patrick - The basic facts - in our kids section

Our Internet Gateway

Religion and spirituality websites including:
- Religion and Philosophy @ Oxford Reference Online
  Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.
- A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity
- Religious Tolerance website includes Easter in other languages
Easter Bunny's Net Recipes, songs, myths and traditions.
Happy-easter.com Crafts, cards, jokes and even an online colouring-in game.
Happy Easter Information about Easter: history, crafts, games, books, songs, gifts and recipes.
Hoppy Easter Easter stories, animations, and pictures to colour from Holidays.net.
The history of St Patrick's Day from The History Channel
Christchurch Irish Society
St Patrick from the online Catholic Encyclopedia: New Advent.
New Zealand Irish Directory

Browse the resources in our libraries:

We recommend: Online resources

Our online resources: What’s new on the blog

The Christchurch City Libraries blog is written for people who love books, movies and music and want to know about the latest developments and trends in the book world. Regularly updated and constantly fresh, the blog has plenty to offer avid readers and music fans. Recent posts include:

What’s new on the library website?

Plains FM 96.9 Timeline & History
Database handout (PDF) - perfect if you want a printable reference guide to some of the many databases available free to you with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

Suggest a theme:

We want your feedback on our editions - feel free to suggest a theme that you think other library users would find useful.

Next week: One rubbish bag enough, Christchurch couple say

Waveney and Matt are taking on a unique challenge - allowing themselves just one Christchurch City Council rubbish bag for an entire year. We meet the couple and find out more about Earth Hour in next week's edition.