What’s open and closed Easter weekend Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Ajax, Clarington

It’s Easter weekend in Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Ajax, Clarington and the rest of Durham Region with Good Friday (April 3) Easter Sunday (April 5) and Easter Monday (April 6) coming in a littler earlier this year after falling on April 18 last year.

Unlike holidays with a set date, Easter is tied to the lunar cycle, coming on the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Easter is both a solemn Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death, as well as a time for children to look for chocolate goodies hidden by the Easter Bunny. Most historians believe Jesus was most likely crucified on April 7 in 30 AD but early Christians wanted the holiday to coincide with the Jewish Passover, which falls on the 15th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar.

Here’s what’s open and closed:

What’s open and closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday:

Closed:

• Pickering Town Centre
• Oshawa Centre
• LCBO
• Beer Store locations
• Canada Post (no mail pick-up or delivery)
• Pickering Museum Village
• Service Oshawa, Seniors 55-plus centres
• Animal shelters
• Banks
• Libraries
• City halls/town halls and municipal headquarters
• Provincial courts
• Most recreation centres.
• Recreation programming will be closed at most rec centres all weekend

Open:

• Some restaurants may be open for dining in, takeout and delivery, but call ahead to be sure
• Variety stores and some smaller grocery stores
• Most Shoppers Drug Marts
• Many breweries will be open; some with special holiday hours, so call ahead to be sure
• Most cannabis stores will be open, but call ahead to be sure
• Many municipal recreation centres will be open on Easter Sunday. Saturday will be regular hours
• LCBO stores will close on Friday, open on Saturday, and close again on Sunday. Alcohol will still be able to be purchased at participating convenience stores
• The Ajax Community Centre and Audley Recreation Centre will stay open Good Friday but will be closed Monday.
• The Civic Recreation Complex and Delpark Recreation Centre  in Oshawa will be open Good Friday on modified hours

Waste Collection:

• Garbage and recycling days will be pushed ahead one day

Transit:

• DRT will run on a holiday schedule on Friday (regular weekday service resumes Monday)
• GO Transit will run on a Saturday schedule on Friday. Trains will run every hour making all station stops. Eastbound trains will leave Toronto’s Union Station every hour and westbound trains will leave Oshawa GO on an hourly basis as well

What’s open and closed on Easter Monday:

Closed

• Government offices
• Canada Post (no mail collection or delivery)
• City/town Halls
• Service Oshawa

Open

• Major malls and shopping centres
• Banks
• LCBO (some locations may have special hours, so call ahead to be sure)
• Beer Store locations
• Most breweries. Some will have special holiday hours, so call ahead to be sure
• Cannabis stores
• Grocery stores
• Restaurants and most retail
• McLean Community Centre in Ajax and Delpark Centre will be open Monday

Transit:

• DRT and GO Transit will run on a regular schedule on Monday