For lots of people, Easter is a chance to get together with family, paint and hunt for eggs, and eat your body weight in chocolate or attend church and celebrate the religious festivities. After doing some research I found that in some parts of the world, the local traditions that mark the Christian holiday are really interesting. Some of the ways that different countries celebrate Easter might surprise you- I know I certainly found them interesting! From Poland to Bermuda, here are eight places around the world with wonderful and fascinating Easter traditions.
Sicily
At Easter time in the Sicilian town of San Biagio Platani, the town’s residents construct elaborate arches and domes all made from bread and other foodstuffs. The Archi di Pasqua — Easter arches — is a tradition that dates back to the 18th century.
Poland
Śmigus-dyngus, aka lany poniedziałek (wet Monday), is a Polish Easter Monday tradition where you may well get very wet indeed! People of all ages chuck water at each other in a 1,000-year-old tradition. It supposedly began as a pagan cleansing ritual. Nowadays, it’s a good excuse for throwing water all over each other!
Bermuda
A hot cross bun is a pretty irresistible treat at Easter, and there are no shortage of them in Bermuda on Good Friday. Apparently, there used to be a superstition that your home would burn down if you didn’t eat one. These days, Bermudians are too busy outside flying kites to worry about that. People from across the island make their own beautiful and colourful creations to launch into the air, representing the resurrection of Christ.
Finland
In Finland you’ll find children walking around the streets asking for treats whilst dressed as witches … nothing unusual there, right? But this isn’t Halloween. Children in Finland get on their broomsticks at Easter. The old Finnish belief was that by wearning witchlike clothes, children could fend off evil spirits.
Greece
At the Greek dinner table at Easter the eggs are all painted bright red — the colour of life, and the blood of Christ. Many Orthodox Christians in Greece also paint the sky with fireworks at Easter time. Every church on the island of Spetses sets off fireworks at midnight on Easter Saturday too!
France
If you find yourself in the French commune of Haux, south of Bordeaux on Easter Monday, you’ll see the huge omelette they make that can feed a thousand people! The tradition began during the time of Napoleon, who supposedly loved the local dish so much so that he ordered they make an omelette large enough to feed his army.
Norway
Easter time- do you think of Easter egg hunts outside with spring in full bloom? In Norway it means one thing: time to put the feet up with a good murder mystery. Påskekrims — Easter crime stories — are really popular. Every year, Norwegian TV and radio stations are wall-to-wall with these whodunnits. We don’t really know why!
Guatemala
Guatemala knows how to celebrate Easter and they really make the most of it. Their Easter celebrations run through the whole of Holy Week. There are fireworks and processions of floats carrying biblical sculptures, as well as carpets laid on the street made of flowers and fruit, so it’s a beautiful and colourful celebration.
Why not start your own Easter tradition? For lots of people, me included, it’s a great time of year to spend with loved ones- you can keep it traditional with Easter eggs, games and maybe religious celebrations too or start your own more individual celebration. A lot more people also celebrate by giving and sharing Easter cards to celebrate the festival…I’ve chosen to create my Easter designs using spring-like flowers, as it is the season of new life. Would love to know what you do with your families and friends at Easter time. Feel free to share below!
