How is Easter celebrated around the world?

8 surprising traditions from

Spain, France, Germany and more

Have you ever wondered if anywhere else celebrates Easter with chocolate eggs
and bunnies?
If you hadn't have guessed from the mountains of chocolate eggs littering the
supermarket, Easter is very nearly upon us.
That's right, the Easter weekend is now just a few days away, giving you just
the right amount of time to stock up on chocolate.
While most of us in the UK tend to celebrate the four-day weekend with egg
hunts and stacks of sweet treats, other countries have embraced their own
Easter rituals.
Here, we take a look at some Easter traditions around the globe and the history
behind them.
1. Easter in Spain

Semana Santa is marked by huge parades in Spain

Known in Spain as Semana Santa, or Holy Week, Easter is observed for an
entire seven days on the Iberian peninsula.Celebrations begin during the last
week of Lent, and it is marked by huge and elaborate religious processions in
nearly every single town and village across the country.
People parade through the streets in costumes or in hooded robes, carrying
intricate religious floats depicting difference scenes from the Bible, while often
accompanied by live music. Some of the most well-known take place in
Zamora, Valladolid, Seville and Granada.
Treats such as torrija (similar to French toast), pestiños and cakes are all
popular around this time as well.

2. Easter in France

The town of Bessieres in France celebrates Easter with a huge

omelette
Much like in Spain, many of France's Easter customs stem from Catholic
tradition and as such the holiday is usually a more religious affair than the
UK's.
One such tradition dictates that church bells stop ringing around Easter as a
mark of respect for Jesus' death, and to explain their silence children are told
the bells have flown to Rome to be blessed by the Pope.
On the morning of Easter Sunday - Jesus' resurrection - the bells then fly back
to France loaded with sweet treats which they drop into gardens for the
children. Once they are back in their steeples they then start ringing joyfully
again.
So in France it is the "cloches volantes" or "cloches de Pâques", and not the
Easter bunny, which brings the Easter eggs. Once the bells have begun to
rung, the Easter egg hunt - or "chasse aux oeufs" - begins. Traditional food
revolves around lamb, cheese, potatoes and chocolate. In the town of Bessières
thousands of people gather on the Monday morning to make a giant omelette,
usually consisting of 15,000 eggs and 40 cooks.

3. Easter in Germany

An oak wheel stuffed with straw is set on fire and rolled down a hill to
celebrate the Easter Wheel (Osterraeder) tradition in Luedge, Germany
Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays in Germany, and
they celebrate by lighting bonfires around sunset on Holy Saturday.
Some places have turned the "osterfeuer" (Easter bonfire) into mini festivals
with stands selling sausages, wine and funfair rides while other communities
stuff huge bales of straw into a wooden wheel, set it on fire and roll it down a
hill (known as the Osterrad).
Other traditions include decorating an "Easter tree" with hand painted eggs,
known as the Ostereierbaum. Usually, families hang the ornaments from a
small household tree, however you can hang them from bigger foliage in your
garden.
It is also traditional in Germany to eat something green on Maundy Thursday,
which is called Gründonnerstag - or "green Thursday". Spiced, sweet bread,
enriched with eggs and dairy and dotted with almonds, candied peel raisins are
also popular during Easter for breakfast and afternoon tea.
4. Easter in Italy

The Scoppio del Carro takes place on Easter Sunday, in which a cart full
of fireworks in exploded by a dove-shaped rocket
Unsurprisingly the Pope leads the Easter celebrations in Italy, holding a huge
mass on Good Friday at St. Peter's Basilica where the Via Crucis, or Station of
the Cross, is celebrated. During the mass, a huge crucifix made out of burning
torches is raised in the night sky.
In Florence, Easter Sunday is marked by the Scoppio del Carro, a centuries-old
custom in which a huge and elaborately designed antique wagon full of
fireworks is set alight by a dove-shaped rocket after being hauled into a small
square by oxen and hundreds of people in 15th century dress.
Elsewhere in Italy over the course of the three days, religious processions are
held in which people dress in ancient costumes and parade artefacts, statues
and olive branches through main squares.
One of the most popular foods on the peninsula during this period is the
Colomba di Pasqua, a traditional cake which is similar to a panettone.
5. Easter in Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Women are doused in water as a part of a centuries-old Easter tradition in

Hungary
Across central and Eastern Europe an ancient tradition exists which sees
people try to drench each other with water buckets of water, usually men
soaking the women, on Easter Monday.
Known as Smigus-dyngus (Wet Monday) in Poland, Watering Monday in
Ukraine, Watering in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Sprinkling in
Hungary, the ritual is supposedly based around womens' fertility, with the
water having a cleansing effect in an effort to make them healthy for the
upcoming spring.
In Hungary participants will often dress up in folk costumes and the men will
douse the women with buckets of water or perfume. In Poland, traditionally the
women get soaked but today it has become more of a country-wide water fight.
After the soaking, usually the women then provide the men with food and
alcohol. Another Easter tradition exists in these countries in which men whip
women with a special handmade whip made from willow and decorated with
ribbons. Not intended to be painful, it supposedly helps women keep their
youth, health and fertility throughout the year.
6. Easter in Finland and Sweden

Little children dressed up as Easter witches in Finland and

Sweden / Shutterstock

In a centuries-old folk ritual that looks remarkably similar to Halloween,

children in both Finland and Sweden dress up as Easter witches (påskkärring)
and go door-to-door in their neighbourhoods in the hope of receiving chocolate.
The youngsters wear decorated headscarves, paint their faces and carry
bunches of decorated willow twigs, paintings and drawings which they
exchange for sweet treats.
7. Easter in The Philippines

People get nailed to wooden crosses in the province of Pampanga in

the Philippines at Easter 

Devout Catholics in the Philippines will volunteer to be "crucified" on Good

Friday to reenact Jesus' suffering, in a particularly gruesome practice that has
been condemned by the church.
Thousands watch the reenactment, known as the San Pedro Cutud Lenten
Rites, in the province of Pampanga, in which believers are nailed to crosses to
atone for their sins or pray for others.
Penitents volunteer to have nails measuring two inches long hammered into
their palms and feet by people dressed as Roman centurions and nailed to a
cross. They are only taken down from the cross once they feel atoned of their
sins.
The practice, which is believed to date to the 1950s, also sees other penitents
flagellate themselves using bamboo sticks tied to a rope.
8. Easter in Bermuda

As you'd expect from a tropical island, Easter is much more relaxed and a
whole lot warmer than it is for us in Europe. Fittingly then, Bermudians of all
ages like to celebrate Good Friday on the beach, where they fly both special
homemade and store-bought kites.
The kites supposedly represent Christ's resurrection, and come in all manner
of shapes, colours and sizes. Some are so big they require several people to get
it airborne. Along with kite-flying, Bermudian also enjoy eating fish cakes and
hot cross buns at this time of year.
Speaking about Easter

(1) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Easter?
(2) What is Easter?
(3) According to the Christian religion, Easter is a more important holiday
than Christmas. Why to you think this is so?
(4) How do people spend Easter in your country?
(5) What are the traditional Easter dishes in your country?
(6) How do people prepare for Easter?
(7) What more would you like to know about Easter?
(8) Are there any special rituals performed right before or after Easter?
(9) Have you ever spent Easter in another country? Would you like to?
(10) "Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things
but in terms of ideals." What do you think this quote means?
(11) Should Easter be at the same time / on the same date every year?
(12) What do you like and dislike about Easter?
(13) What's the symbolism of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs?
(14) What is the meaning of Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Holy
Saturday?
(15) What do people in your country do on Easter Monday?
(16) Do you prefer Easter or Christmas?
(17) There would be no Christmas if there was no Easter. Do you agree?
(18) Is Easter less commercial than Christmas? Why (not)?
(19) Someone once said: "The resurrection gives my life meaning and
direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."
What do you think this means?
(20) Do you think that people will stop celebrating Easter one day?
(21) Which is your favourite Easter tradition in your country?