06: Easter might be the best public holiday of the year.

Here we are at the end of the first six weeks of Uni, staring down the barrel of the only Government-sanctioned, four-day-long weekend of the year—well besides Christmas, but this one’s better. 

The problem with Christmas is the family politics and being forced to listen to the same songs on repeat in the supermarket for two months. There’s the pressure to buy presents you can’t afford, or you might overdo it on the presents with no reciprocation. What if your friends only deserve a lump of coal? You might have the stray aunty pulling up on Christmas morning, and an uncle’s very marginal political opinions to accompany your festive lunch. The opportunities for chaos are endless. 

After the announcement that Matariki will be added to our list of public holidays in 2022, some New Zealanders got up in arms that the dates for Matariki will change each year so it will match up astrologically. These people must also be up in arms about the dates for Easter changing each year to align with the March equinox.

As chocolate lovers, there is a big incentive to celebrate this holiday. It’s virtually centred around chocolate consumption. Although, the traditional hollow egg in the cardboard box with the plastic packaging can lead to a huge amount of waste. This year we’re straying away from the eggs in plastic shells and favouring foil. And we may only buy them once they go on sale after Easter to save the waste, and our bank accounts. Show us a better deal that a $4 Lindt bunny.  

People go to church and a lot don’t, that’s up to you. It can be a lovely way to connect with your grandparents and get some soulful singing in.

It’s also still kind of summer-y, so there is still an opportunity to dust off your budgie smugglers and go for a dip at Oriental parade, or eat outside under the windy sunshine.

For Matthew, this is going to be the first ever Easter he spends away from his family, and to be honest he’s quite gutted. This for him has always been a holiday spent with his parents and siblings, no matter where. Sally will be making hot cross buns and hopefully participating in a flat Easter egg hunt. 

In this week’s lead feature, “The cost of being visible: Anti asian sentiment in the COVID age” on page XX, Ronia Ibrahim calls out racism. Ronia writes of her own experiences combined with information about recent events, headlines, and historic incidents both locally and globally. 

If you haven’t seen Taika Waititi’s 2017 video called “Give Nothing to Racism”, delivered in his signature comedic style—look that up on YouTube. 

As with any other break, this is a good time to reflect, take time for yourself, and hang out with friends and family. It’s been a heavy few weeks. 

Ngā manaakitanga, 

Sally Ward (she/her) and Matthew Casey (he/him)

Salient Co-Editors