Easter around the world

In Australian our Easter is spent having a weekend of feasting on chocolate bunnies and Hot Cross Buns and it got me thinking about how others celebrate around the world. Rabbits and eggs signify rebirth and fertility and for many the symbol for Easter is the rabbit and chocolate eggs.

In the US back in 1878 the White House grounds were officially opened by the President and his wife on Easter Monday. The event of egg rolling was held on the South Lawn for local children and has been a yearly event with the exception of during WWI and WWII.In Australia many have substituted the traditional chocolate rabbit, which is feral for an endangered chocolate bilby. The Easter Bilby has raised awareness about the environmental damage that feral rabbits cause and awareness for the nocturnal omnivorous animal.

Bilbies are small native animals that with the help of replacing the Easter bunny with a true native wildlife, Bilby are slowly getting themselves off the endangered species list. Several chocolatiers like Pink Lady, Haigh’s Chocolates, Cadbury’s and Darrell Lea are now all producing Easter Bilbies and many Australians are embracing this as the traditional chocolate treat.Hot Cross Buns are traditionally toasted and eaten on Good Friday in Britain and Australia. They stand out from other Easter delicacies because of their flavour, a combination of spicy, sweet and fruity with a cross on the top. First baked in England, served hot as the traditional Good Friday breakfast, they are now eaten throughout the entire Easter period and made fruitless or chocolate as well as traditional. Easter is one of the most important religious holidays and has a variety of traditions and symbols throughout the world. The cross on the top of the buns symbolises the cross that Jesus was crucified on. As a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made on the day of crucifixion, meat is traditionally not eaten and substituted for fish on Good Friday.

In addition to the spiritual side of Easter is also has a material side, the Easter bonnets, bunnies and irresistible foil wrapped chocolate eggs. Women have by tradition, bought new hats to wear to church services at Easter and to wear in local parades. This tradition was introduced in 1930’s by songwriter Irving Berlin who wrote about New York’s Easter Parade. Easter bonnets are elegant, dramatic, functional, whimsical or absolutely ridiculous, but they are fun and part of our fashion history.

There are also many traditions and rituals. In Poland a symbol of Christ is the lamb and Easter baskets contain a lamb made of sugar. The day after Easter is known as Dyngus Day or Wet Monday. A day of engaging in public water fights is celebrated in Poland and the Polish-American neighbourhoods of Buffalo, New York and Indiana. Since Easter Monday in 966 AD Polish boys have tried to drench other people with buckets of water. Legend says girls who get soaked will marry within the year. Nothing says I love you like soaking the girl of your dreams in water.

Lamb is the cutest of all European Easter meal traditions, whether it be sculptures of tiny lambs made of butter or lamb cakes, they are a common centrepiece on the Easter table in Russia, Slovenia and Poland with their cute little bow around their neck.

Easter is one of the most joyful holidays in the Czech calendar with Pomlázka which started in pagan times still being a tradition upheld today. Although having lost its symbolism and romance the origin was to chase away illness and bad spirits and bring health for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped.

Using young pussywillow twigs boys would whip girls lightly on the legs while reciting an Easter carol. As willow is the first tree to bloom in spring, the branches are used to transfer vitality and fertility to women. The girl would reward the boy with a painted egg and tie a ribbon on his pomlázka. The reward today is often shots of plum brandy, slivovice, so by afternoon groups of staggering, happy men are seen. I can see why it’s so joyful.In some areas whipping is not widespread but instead women are doused with water in another fertility related ritual. In Czech home, decorating eggs is traditionally left for girls as boys are busy making whips. While chocolate Easter bunnies are becoming more common, the traditional treat is chocolate or sugar covered cake in the shape of a lamb.In Bermuda on Good Friday home-made kites made from coloured tissue paper, wood, metal and string are flown to symbolise the ascent of Christ into heaven on the fortieth day after Resurrection. Bermudians eat codfish cakes and hot cross buns.

Easter is very important time of the year for Greek Orthodox Christians. Orthodox Easter is often celebrated at a different time as it is based on the Julian calendar as opposed to the Gregorian calendar widely used by western countries. Many Orthodox people reflect on the events occurring during Holy Week with eggs being dyed red to signify Jesus Christ’s blood. In addition to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Easter Monday or Bright Monday is a day to finish off leftover Easter meals.

Old Christmas trees are piled up and burnt on Easter Sunday and Monday in Germany, signifying the end of winter and beginning of spring. As the fires chase away the remainder of winter, it is a festive night, with adults enjoying alcohol and food as they watch.

Christians recognize three main events during Easter. Good Friday for Christs’ crucifixion, Holy Saturday for Christs’ burial and descent to Hades and Easter Sunday reflecting Christ’s resurrection.

Pot Throwing takes place on the Greek island of Corfu on the morning of Holy Saturday. The tradition of people throwing pots, pans and earthenware from their windows is said to derive from the Venetians who throw out old items on New Year’s Day. It could also symbolise welcoming spring by throwing pots in the belief that new crops will be gathered with new pots.

A popular Hungarian Easter tradition on Easter Monday is Ducking Monday. Boys sprinkle perfume or perfumed water on girls. People believe water to have a healing, fertility inducing effect and men pour buckets of water over young women’s heads, or spray with cologne and ask for a kiss.

In the French town, Haux on Easter Monday a giant omelette is served in the town’s main square. The 4,500 egg omelette feeds up to 1,000 people and is a tradition started by Napoleon. When he and his army were travelling through the South of France they liked the small town’s omelette so much the townspeople were ordered to gather their eggs and make a giant omelette for the army.The tradition in Germany to decorate the branches of trees and bushes with eggs for Easter is centuries old, and is known as Ostereierbaum, or Easter egg tree. The egg is an ancient symbol of life all over the world. Eggs are hung on branches of outdoor trees and bushes or hung from branches inside.The Easter egg hunt originated back in the 1600s when men would hide eggs for the women and children to find. Nowadays children rush about their house and garden in search of chocolate eggs to fill their baskets. In medieval times during Lent eggs couldn’t be eaten so on Easter Sunday when the fasting has ended eggs were eaten as they were considered to be an important part of any celebration, especially to those who couldn’t afford meat. Originally the eggs were boiled wrapped with onion skin to form a coloured pattern ranging form yellow to brown. Tea, roots and spices can also be used to colour eggs.

I’ll leave you with a fun fact: Most children (74%) will eat the ears of their chocolate rabbit first, 13% will eat the feet first and 10% will eat the tail first.

What eggs-traordinary traditions do you follow for Easter? Which part of your chocolate rabbit do you bite into first?

My Mum at an Easter parade

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