In This Edition: Easter Bunny origins; Joy of Baking; Anzac Day Heroes; Reading Corner

Welcome to Our 365 Care April Newsletter

Autumn is the perfect time of year for those who love to pull on a cosy jumper, stay inside with a good book, and fill a home with the warm scent of apple crumble. However, it seems that we also need gumboots and umbrellas with the deluge of rain we have experienced! In April, we can also enjoy the Easter spirit.

Whether it be for the love of chocolate, the spiritual belief or just an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, the Easter public holidays are a time to enjoy. At the end of the month on April 25th we will also remember our fallen heroes on Anzac Day.

Do You Know the Origin of the Easter Bunny?

The recognition of Easter originated from the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, but the seasonal chocolate eggs and the bunny who delivers them are nowhere to be found in scripture.

The exact origins of the Easter bunny are clouded in mystery. One theory is that the symbol of the rabbit stems from pagan tradition, specifically the festival of Eostre—a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny. Rabbits, known for their energetic breeding, have traditionally symbolised fertility.

Eggs are also representative of new life, and it’s believed that decorating eggs for Easter dates back to the 13th century. Hundreds of years ago, churches had their congregations abstain from eggs during Lent, allowing them to be consumed again on Easter. In the 19th century Russian high society started exchanging ornately decorated eggs—even jewel encrusted—on Easter.

But How Did The Easter Bunny Begin Delivering Eggs?

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilThe theory of the Easter bunny originated in the 1700s with German migrants to America who transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Eventually, as the custom spread across the U.S.

Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts.365 Care Community Engagement - April

Traditional rabbit nests that we originally used to ‘house’ the eggs, were replaced by decorated baskets.

The tradition of leaving carrots outside, is similar to leaving snacks out for Santa. A busy bunny needs lots of fuel and energy to visit many homes across the world in one night to deliver their chocolates.

Like most traditions that started in the US, they find their way to the shores of other countries, and Australia is no exception. However, in typically Australian fashion, we have replaced the bunny with our own traditional Easter Bilby.

Other countries might also celebrate Easter with other animals like foxes or cuckoo birds.

Calling All Eggheads!

5 EASTER TRIVIA QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOPPY HOLID

You may think you know all there is to know about Easter, but we bet at least one of these Easter trivia questions will stump you!

QUESTION: The world-record largest chocolate Easter egg was made in what city?
Answer: Tosca, Italy

QUESTION: What baked good is a Good Friday tradition in England?
Answer: Hot cross buns

QUESTION: In Switzerland, what animal delivers Easter eggs to kids?
Answer: The cuckoo

QUESTION: Households each spend how much on average on Easter annually?
Answer: $131 QUESTION: What is the traditional Easter mascot in Australia? Answer: Bilby

Waste Not Want Not

A clever way to use up leftover Easter Eggs

Waste not, want not! So, what can we do with all the leftover chocolate? EASTER EGG ICE CREAM HOT CROSS BUN SANDWICH These hot cross bun ice cream sandwiches are an utterly decadent and impressive dessert and a great way to use up leftover Easter chocolate.

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilEASTER EGG ICE CREAM HOT CROSS BUN SANDWICH

INGREDIENTS
• 1L vanilla or chocolate ice cream, softened
• 18 white or milk chocolate eggs, chopped
• 6 hot cross buns, split
• 200ml pure (thin) cream
• 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine the ice cream and chocolate eggs then return to the freezer for at least 2 hours.
2. For the ganache, place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour over the hot cream. Set aside for 5 minutes to melt then stir until smooth.
3. Lightly toast the hot cross buns. Scoop ice cream onto the base and top with some of the smooth ganache. Top with a bun lid and eat immediately.

The Joy of Baking

Autumn is a superb time to celebrate the tradition of baking in all its different forms, from teatime to the cake stall and everything in between.

It’s not that long ago that the baker in the family set aside one day a week to make cakes, biscuits, tarts, pies, bread etc- for the week ahead. This was well-before the days of 24 hour supermarkets, online home delivery and Uber Eats.

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilTimes were quite different and making your own food was a necessity, usually from the produce found in your garden, or brought from the local farmers’ market. If you ran out of bread or milk, you couldn’t just pop out to the shops.

Homegrown cooks, traditionally women, have always been resourceful, making the best of available ingredients on any given day.

365 Care Community Engagement - April

Nothing was wasted: excess produce was bottled and stored; cakes and biscuits were baked after the main meal on the wooden stove as the heat was still retained. When women started to look for work outside the home, modern kitchen appliances entered our kitchens and convenience products flooded the supermarket shelf, time then became the enemy.

Ready-made and prepackaged meals started to replace traditionally made meals at the end of a busy day and now are a permanent fixture in many family’s meal planning each week. However, we are seeing a resurgence of the benefits of ‘homemade’ and a movement to locally grown, produced and ethically sourced produce.

For many people there is great satisfaction in making your own food and sharing it with others. Sharing food experiences are a fixture in our cultural makeup. The welcome addition of migrants to our shores, saw the wonderful influx of a new palette of spices, foods and tastes. Over time much of this has become ingrained in the culinary landscape of Australia.

TRADITIONAL BANANA CAKE

365 Care Community Engagement - April

INGREDIENTS
• 250g butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 cup chopped pecan nuts
• lemon icing (optional)

 

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a cake tin.
2. Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup, add eggs and mashed banana. Add sifted flour, ginger and pecans.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. When cold, ice with lemon icing.
Credit: Country Women’s Association Cookbook

The Big Bake Sydney

365 Care Community Engagement - April

Ready, set, bake! If you love Cake Wars, MasterChef and Sugar Rush, now is your chance to feature in your own baking competition. The Big Bake Sydney, is an unforgettable baking experience in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. If you have what it takes then tie on your apron, get your piping bags and wooden spoons ready to compete against a friend or foe in the pursuit of ultimate baking glory.

This event is brought to you by the team behind The Wizards Den, The Alice Immersive Experience and Hot Tub Cinema. Visit https://explorehidden.com/city/sydney/list to purchase a ticket.

365 Care Community Engagement - April15 Fast Facts About The Anzac’s and Anzac Day

  1. The 25TH April was the day when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915.
  2. In 1916, the 25th April was officially named Anzac Day.
  3. There is no town called “Gallipoli” however, it is the name of the area. Visitors to Gallipoli usually stay at nearby towns.
  4. The site where the Anzac’s landed at Gallipoli was renamed Anzac Cove.
  5. The Anzac’s were all volunteers.
  6. The first dawn service for Anzac Day was in 1923.
  7. One of the main causes for the failure at Gallipoli was because the boats that took the soldiers landed at the incorrect area. Instead landing at a beach, they we met with sharp cliffs and continuous bombardments of gunning and shelling from the Turkish soldiers.
  8. Anzac Day was not a public holiday in New Zealand until 1921.
  9. The Gallipoli Peninsula is close to the ancient city of Troy.
  10. More than 11,000 Anzac’s died at Gallipoli and a further 23,500 were wounded.
  11. The original Anzac biscuit was known as an Anzac wafer and was part of the rations given to the Anzac soldiers during World War I.
  12. The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word ‘Anzac’ to the Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary and producing the idea of the Anzac spirit.
  13. The most significant time to remember the Anzac’s is at dawn as this is when the original Gallipoli landing happened.
  14. The last surviving Anzac was Alec Campbell who died on May 16, 2002. 15. The poppy is worn on Anzac Day as a reminder of the soldiers lost in battle.

LEST WE FORGET!!

365 Care Community Engagement - April

Credit from https://www.traveltalktours.com/facts-anzac-day/

Reading Corner

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilDo you like to retreat to a quiet place, enjoy a cup of tea and a great book? This month’s recommendation is: A Week to Remember by Esther Campion. A stone farmhouse on the Irish coast is about to receive its first guests in this warmly captivating story.

With its bright front door, white-sash windows and garden path sweeping down toward the sea, Lizzie O’s guesthouse promises a welcome escape from the world. Aisling and Mick Fitzgerald are travelling all the way from Tasmania to celebrate their wedding anniversary, courtesy of Mick’s mother.

They are both using this trip as quality time together. Aisling is struggling with a secret that could ruin their marriage. Declan Byrne, spontaneously takes a week off from an unhealthy routine of long hours, takeaway and too much red wine and visits the village of his childhood summers. He runs into Edwina and Peru, who he knows from the building he works in.

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilKatie Daly returns to West Cork after an absence of 35 years to care for her ageing mother only to find she must confront her painful past. Finally, Mia Montgomery is taking this holiday without telling her husband. She needs time to reflect and make some decisions about her life.

These strangers are at a crossroads. And one week in the middle of winter may change all of their lives. A Week to Remember is the third novel by Irish-born Australian author, Esther Campion, who many compare to the late Maeve Binchy. We have a deep affection for Binchy’s books, and A Week to Remember really channels the same sub-genre of heart-warming stories set in small-town Ireland.

The standout here really is the sense of place. Campion’s gift is to draw you into the utterly life-changing week each character experiences, in this truly special place. We were there. And now we want to go back. A Week to Remember is like a relaxing weekend away. A total treat.

Credit from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56065634-a-week-to-remember

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilNature’s Silver Lining (or pink) – Our Native Flannel Flowers

Have you seen the beautiful sea of pink native Flannel Flowers that is currently sweeping across the Blue Mountains region from Katoomba to Newnes.

These extra special natives only bloom after a fire as the smoke triggers germination.

After the 2020 fires the 2019/20 bushfires are a colourful sign of making them a colourful sign of resilience, but will only last a few months.

 

Upcoming Events

Attached to the end of the newsletter is our 2021 calendar of events. Our monthly activities of morning teas, movies and special events are designed to provide you with opportunities to get out of your home and to meet other people who have also been restricted in their movements with COVID-19 throughout the past 12 months.

We’d love you to join, so if you need assistance to get there and back or accompany you, then reach out and ask your Care Coordinator. So don’t wait any longer, come along and join in the fun.

365 Care Community Engagement - AprilService You Can Trust

At 365 Care we provide quality, compassionate home care for the elderly, and adults with a disability in Western Sydney, who want to remain independent in their own homes. We work alongside families seeking peace of mind, whilst building caring relationships, that are based on honesty, respect, and advocacy.

For more information on the services we offer and how we can assist in maximising the value from your home care packages, contact us on 1300 365 248. Have a wonderful Easter break and remember Anzac Day is at the end of the month!

 

365 Care Community Engagement - April

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