While festivities around the world celebrating Easter follow the Christian church, the basics are often unparallel around the world, due to regional influences. Variations straddle almost all the aspects of the Easter celebration, like what is eaten, the symbols, the fantasies and the traditions. Today, Easter is fast becoming a rampant commercialization of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns, and losing its religious relevance. Families take the opportunity to capitalise on the long weekend provided by Good Friday and Easter Monday and spend time together. But while we may be used to the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts, around the world it is celebrated very differently.
Whipping the girls in Czech Republic
Monday is ‘Whipping Monday’, because boys symbolically ‘whip’ girls on their legs with ‘pussy willow’ twigs, bringing good luck and health to whoever is whipped by them. While whipping a girl, the boy would recite an Easter carol, usually asking for an egg or two. The girl would reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and tie a ribbon around his whipping twig. This tradition is still followed in many parts of Czech Republic.
Czechs eat ‘Mazanec’, a special Easter food, which is a yeast-raised cake filled with almonds, raisins and citron. A cross is cut into the top of the cake, just before it goes into the oven (traditional hotcross buns). Easter gingerbread, Easter Ram Cake, Judas Cake, ‘God’s Mercy’ (a type of doughnut sprinkled with sugar) are some delicious traditional recipes, eaten during Easter.
Steak, egg and diaper Cake in Romania
After Great Friday or the Friday of sufferings, Romania attends mass where they take bowls of Pasca (steak and egg) to be blessed and eaten. A special Easter cake, also known as Pasca, is baked on Great Thursday. The Pasca has a round shape (reminding one of little Jesus’ diapers) or a rectangular one (the shape of his grave).
In some regions (Bucovina, Transylvania), there is a tradition called “the wetting”. On Monday morning, the boys head to unmarried girls homes and throw buckets of water on them if they are sleeping. It is believed they will marry and in return the girls give the boys decorated eggs, Pasca or cake.
Red egg crack in Bulgaria
With their dyed red eggs, a unique Bulgarian traditions is that eggs are to be cracked against the wall of the church after their midnight service, a symbol that lent/fasting is over. The Bulgarian ‘good luck crack’ is where people take turns in tapping their eggs together with the last person having an unbroken egg having good luck, health and success for the rest of the year.
Easter is not complete in Bulgaria without a feast. Traditional recipes include ‘Banista’ (Bulgarian pastry), ‘Palachinki’ (a type of pancake), ‘Baklava’ and ‘Wine Kebap’, which the whole family enjoys together.
Flying bells and fish in France
There is no Easter Bunny in France, but rather of bells and fish. The French Easter fish are called ‘Poisson d’Avril’, which means ‘April Fish’. The Poisson d’Avril makes his appearance on the 1st of April, as French children delight in playing a kind of ‘April Fool’s’ trick. They stick a paper fish onto the back of as many adults as possible.
Flying Bells is a folktale or story about how all the church bells in France fly to the Vatican on Good Friday to grieve Jesus’ crucifixion, which return on Easter Sunday. In keeping with the tradition, French church bells do not ring from Good Friday to Easter morning.
Secret letters in Denmark
Other than decorating their towns and cities in yellow and green with daffodils and décor in Easter, people in Denmark also take part in a letter writing tradition. ‘Gækkebreve’ or teaser letter is a short poem or rhyme that is anonymous but signed with dots corresponding to the number of letters in the senders name. The receiver of the poem needs to guess who the sender is and give an egg to them after a certain time. Children take part in this activity willingly with friends and family.
Easter lunch is served with herrings, fish, little hot dishes, sliced meats and cheese. The traditional Danish feast is considered incomplete without relishing on the enticing akvavit (flavored spirit), meatballs and ‘store kolde bord’.
Easter egg tree in Germany
Germany is regarded the birthplace of modern day Easter icons such as Easter bunny (Osterhase) and Easter tree. German children are told about the Easter bunny who has hidden eggs and chocolates for them to find. German immigrants have said to have brought such traditions to America.
The tradition of egg tree is popular in Germany and the eggs used for cooking Easter meals are not broken, but emptied by blowing the contents into a bowl, through pinholes. The hollow eggs are then beautifully decorated and hung from shrubs and trees, during Easter week.
Ducking Monday and scary monsters in Hungary
On ‘Ducking Monday’ boys playfully sprinkle perfume or perfumed water on girls. Previously pouring buckets of water over young women’s heads, in the present time, they spray perfume, cologne or just plain water, and then ask for a kiss and a red egg.
Busojaras is the ‘walk of the busos’, (legendary monsters), in the Mohacs district. Men wearing frightening devil masks parade through their village, shouting and making rhythmic sound with the help of old tins and dishes. Folktales state that locals managed to scare away the invading Turks by wearing awful looking monster masks during this time.
Fire lighting in the tomb in Israel
During Easter, many processions are held in Israel. People travel the route of Jesus Christ’s journey to Golgotha. The route is referred to as the ‘Twelve Stations’ of the Cross. Participating in this procession is considered to be a holy practice for the Christians. Processions gather and end at the holy tomb of Jesus.
At one o’clock in the afternoon on Easter day, the church leader goes into Jesus’ tomb and the doors are closed after him. The lights of the entire city are switched off and as the church leader comes out with a burning torch bells around the city begin to ring. The torch is apparently lit inside the tomb on its own without any external source. So everyone present in the procession at that time, lights their candles from the holy fire, enlightening the entire church premises. Easter celebrations assume more religious significance in Israel than feasting and celebrations.
Halloween during Easter in Sweden
Children dressed up as Easter witches with long skirts, colorful headscarves and painted red cheeks, go from house to house in the neighborhood and present the occupants with paintings and drawings in the hope of getting sweets in return. According to Swedish folklore, during Easter the witches fly to Blåkulla (Blue Mountain) to meet the devil.
People commonly decorate their homes with birch twigs as a reminder of Christ’s suffering on the cross, some even decorated with feathers and flowers.
The traditional Easter brunch consists of different varieties of pickled herring, cured salmon and Jansson’s Temptation (potato, onion and pickled sprats baked in cream).
Sweet feast in Canada
Decorating Easter eggs is an activity usually done by children at school or home. Canada takes part in Easter egg hunts, where families take part in searching for hidden chocolate eggs in a garden. Canada created the worlds largest Easter egg in 1975, which consisted of huge jig-saw puzzle pieces, with 524 star patterns and 2206 equilateral triangular blocks.
The traditional feast in Canada consists of Maple Baked Beans, Potatoes Nicoise, Cape Breton Scones and Apple Tart. Eggs are consumed by mixing them with maple syrup, after fasting is over.
Blessing the basket in Poland
The “blessing basket” is one of the unique Easter traditions in Poland. The blessing basket is prepared the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The basket, stashed with colored eggs, bread, cake, salt, pepper and white coloured sausages, is taken to the church to have it blessed. This tradition stems from the belief that the Great Lent, which is the forty day fast before Easter, is not over until the basket has been blessed. It is considered to be sanctified and promising for ones future.
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