Easter Customs Around the World

Easter is an important religious event and for the non-religious it means celebrating spring and spending quality time with the family.

People celebrated spring a long time before Easter appeared and it takes its name from the Phoenician Goddess of the Moon, Astarte, the Germanic goddesses of spring.However nowadays Easter lost its value and became like all the other celebrations very commercialized.

People sell chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies but they don’t know their meaning. The Easter bunny it’s not modern, actually it is a symbol originally taken from the pagan festival of Eastre, where goddess Eastre was worshipped through her symbol, a rabbit. The Germans brought it to America but it was ignored until after the Civil War when Easter became more celebrated by Americans.

The exchange of eggs in spring was an old custom celebrated by Christians the egg represents rebirth and it was often wrapped in a leaf or colored with leaves of some flowers. Lovers also exchanged eggs painted romantically or representing the sun and the spring time and the eggs were eaten after a ritual.

Orthodox Christians painted eggs red to resemble the blood of Christ and they often made hollow eggs by piercing the shell and blowing out the contents then painting pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious figures on them.

Traditions from all over the world

In Hungary children trade a painted egg and then try to throw a coin into the egg and whoever wins gets to eat the egg.

In Ukraine people paint the egg in a specific style called Pysanky with wax making beautiful delicate models on the eggs. They also have the Holy Week and they try to finish their work in the fields before Thursday because from that day the work is forbidden.

In Australia Easter is celebrated in a public way with events, eggs and church services in March or April which are autumn unlike other countries where is spring.
In Sydney the agricultural show called The Royal Easter show displays the best product, farm animals, parades and fireworks.

In Austria Easter is celebrated with a modern festival, people cook crullers and play a game which involves egg knocking.

In Britain on Easter are preformed old dances to frighten the spirits of winter and in the town Olney there is a pancake race.

In Bulgaria people throw eggs at each other and the one who finishes the game without breaking their egg will be the most successful and lucky person in the whole family for the next year.
People also crack their eggs on the church wall and the one who doesn’t break their egg is considered happy and lucky for the next year the oldest woman in the family wipes the face of the children with the first egg cocked to bring happiness and health. Bulgarians also bake the Easter bread, a tasty bread made with spices.

In Canada, in Quebec, Easter is celebrated with the Winter Carnival, parades and sport events and eggs are forbidden during Lent.

In China people believe that eggs are sacred and a symbol of spring and fertility they paint the
eggs red use them as gifts.

Czechoslovakian Easter is called Velikonoce and it dates from pre-Christian times. People decorate eggs using the “batik" method, they bake a coffee bread named Babovka and a special dish called Mazanec, a type of cake filled with almonds and citron with a cross on it.

In Egypt no meat, eggs, fish or milk are supposed to be eaten during Lent then on Palm Sunday they decorate the church with palms and flower and children receive palm branches with holy water to take home. People go to church every day during Holy Week and on Saturday night bells ring to announce Christ’s resurrection. On Sunday the special Easter dinner takes place and on Monday people exchange eggs and spend the day outdoors with family and friends.

In France they have Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras and the church bells ring during the year but they stop ringing before Good Friday then, on Sunday, they ring again announcing that Jesus is alive.
Children throw eggs up in the air and the one who drops it loses, they also have a contest of rolling raw eggs, the unbroken egg symbolizing the stone that was rolled away from the tomb.

In Germany they cover the cross on Good Friday and they are allowed to eat fish from that day then on Sunday they have a special Easter lunch where they eat colored eggs and a cake in a lamb shape. They also serve cookies and chocolate traditionally hiding them in the garden. Easter Fire is when they gather and burn all the old Christmas trees clearing the sings of winter.

In Romania the most important celebration of the year is Jesus Resurrection and people clean the house, wear new clothes and have a ritual bath before going to church, all this symbolizing a new beginning. People make “drob" with lamb meat and cheese and eat lamb roast.

In America Easter is celebrated in very different ways but most people celebrate it with traditional church services and family meals. On Easter Sunday large street parades are held led by someone carrying a candle or a cross. The famous Mardi Gras carnival is held in New Orleans then after Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday comes which is the beginning of the Lent.

In Russia Christians go to church on Easter Saturday night and at midnight they all celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The tradition says that they must give friends and family brightly decorated eggs saying “Christ is risen" and they eat lamb, chicken, pork, bread and Easter cake on Easter Sunday.

In all cultures Easter actually means spending more time with your family and friends, refreshing family bonds but many people use this holiday as an opportunity to make money rather than continuing the tradition.

» left by Anonymous

6 years 59 days ago.

Thumbs up very nice work.

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» left by Sidney

from Texas 6 years 26 days ago.

It is great but you need alot more Cezchoslovokian Custdoms

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» left by TRP

from Quebec 53 days 3 hours ago.

I have no idea of what Quebec you are talking about but if you mean Quebec, Canada, you got totally wrong info!! I live in Quebec and The Carnival has absolutely nothing to do with Easter. I also can't figure out why you've singled out eggs as the only thing forbidden during Lent. Those who chose to "participate" in the regligous period of Lent can chose to deny themselves of rich foods or treats or anything else they consider would be a sacrafice to do without.

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