American TikToker shares ‘weird’ Aussie Easter rule

An American living down under has shared his views on one “weird” rule Australia has at Easter time.

An American TikToker has shared a weird rule Australia has at Easter.

An American living in Sydney has shared the “weird” rule he’s experienced this Easter weekend that he’d never had back home.

TikToker a_summer_abroad, who describes himself as a “Texan living in Australia”, garnered hundreds of comments on Saturday after sharing a video about a unique set of retail rules that gave him a culture shock.

“Here’s a weird thing about Australia, well at least Sydney, I’m not sure if it’s all Australia,” he began.

An American TikToker has shared a weird rule Australia has at Easter.

He pointed out that Australia was less religious but took Easter more seriously.

“So this country that is super secular, at least compared to the United States – and when I say that, in the US you assume someone is religious unless they say otherwise; Australia it’s the opposite, you assume someone is not religious unless they say otherwise – but anyway.

“This very not religious country. Easter weekend. Sydney – I don’t know if it’s the whole country but at least Sydney – the whole town just shuts at 10 and nothing’s open, other than Maccas and a couple of bottle shops, but every bar has to close at 10.

“And I don’t know if it’s the whole weekend. I hope it’s not, but yeah, everything shutting down at 10 on a Friday is pretty wild.”

@a_sumner_abroad

It was fun until 10 tho

♬ original sound - a_sumner_abroad ~ 🤠 in 🇦🇺

There are rules around retail and hospitality trading on Good Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

He said in the “super religious US” nothing shut down for a religious holiday, describing Christmas as different because businesses shut because “no one’s gonna come”, not because it was “the law for them to be closed”.

He said he didn’t understand “giving everyone a long weekend, and them not being allowed to do anything”.

“Different cultures I guess,” he said.

Hundreds of people commented, with the top liked comment letting him in on the Australian secret that “we are religious about our days off”.

“Long weekends and public holidays are our religion,” another said.

“And we eat fish on Good Friday even if we’re not religious,” another wrote.

“I don’t understand how as a religious nation, the US isn’t behind an Easter long weekend. Australians wouldn’t give these public holidays up for anything!” wrote another.

Australia is ‘less religious’ than the US, the TikToker said. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Valeriu Campan

One commenter let him in on the truth, that there were laws around trading hours on Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day in most states.

In reality, NSW has some of the strictest Good Friday laws in the country, prohibiting the sale of takeaway alcohol and limiting licences to 12pm to 10pm.

As for whether shops are allowed to open on Good Friday or Easter Sunday, according to NSW Fair Trading, restricted trading exists to “strike a balance between the rights of workers to spend time off, the opportunity for retail workers to earn additional income, and the expectations of the public”.

Originally published as American TikToker shares ‘weird’ Aussie Easter rule