Every year, my church holds a “hymn sing” on Easter Sunday. Rather than focus on doing things according to a normal custom, we do our best to herald the resurrection of Jesus by focusing on Him in song and spiritual word. This year, we’ve decided to start an additional Easter tradition: Easter brunch. After our hymn sing, one of our other leaders and myself will prepare a special meal for anyone who comes and celebrates with us.
Since my church is newer than most (we’ve only been around a few years), we’re still sorting through our annual customs. This made me wonder about various Easter traditions worldwide. How do different groups acknowledge the day?
Easter is the highest holy day observance for Christians worldwide. An annual observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Easter is a favorite among springtime events, fostering a sense of hope and promise among Christians across denominations. Incorporating a variety of different cultural traditions, Easter practices vary more than you might realize. Far from images of Easter bunnies, egg hunts, and lots of candy, Easter traditions vary from highly spiritual to extremely unusual.
Here we will look at ten different Easter traditions that are both a little unusual and largely unknown.
1. A giant omelette (France)
In the town of Bessieres, France, visitors flock to witness a unique culinary spectacle: a giant omelette. Since 1973, the Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette cook a yearly Easter omelette using 15,000 eggs. Over fifty volunteers cook the omelette, using giant cooking spoons over an open fire in the town square.
Legend has it that Napoleon Bonaparte passed through the town and had an omelette he loved so much, he had the entire town recreate a giant version of it for his men. This annual tradition recounts this military event in French history.
2. Easter witches (Finland)
Most of us associate witches, dress-up, and going door-to-door for candy with Halloween. In Finland, children dress up like witches before Easter and go door-to-door, reciting a wish for a healthy year, in exchange for candy or coins. According to tradition, witches would wander around the streets before Easter on their way to cavort in Germany, misbehaving the whole time. Bonfires are said to ward off the witches. Willow trees are also decorated with colorful feathers to ward off evil spirits.
3. Let’s go fly a kite (Bermuda)
The citizens of Bermuda fly kites on Good Friday, usually homemade (consisting of paper tissue, wood, and string). The theory is the tradition started thanks to a Sunday School teacher who used a kite to illustrate the idea of Christ’s ascension into heaven. Meals include codfish cakes and hot cross buns.
4. Dive into some crime fiction (Norway)
During Easter 1923, an advertisement for a new crime novel (set on the Bergen railway) took Norway by storm. So much by storm, in fact, the citizens of Norway didn’t realize it was fiction! Ever since, Easter is a time for crime stories and novels across this country. As Norwegians take more time off from work than most around Easter, they divide their time between skiing and diving into the latest crime novel or watching a crime story on television. Even milk cartons feature short detective stories every year!
5. Bilbies…not bunnies (Australia)
In Australia, rabbits aren’t native – they are an invasive species. In 1991, the group Rabbit-Free Australia petitioned to replace the Easter rabbit with a bilby. The bilby is a long-eared marsupial native to the land, but currently endangered due to habitat loss and European rabbits invading their spaces. Candy makers now craft Easter bilbies out of chocolate with a portion of the proceeds going to organizations designed to save the species, including the Save the Biliby Fund.
6. Roll out the carpet (Guatemala)
In Antigua, Guatemala, brightly-colored, ornate carpets line cobblestone streets to mark Good Friday. These incredibly intricate designs consist of vegetables, flowers, and even sawdust! Using stencils, designers craft carpets up to 2,600 feet long, serving to depict religious scenes. Some remain until Easter Sunday, as people walk over them on their way to church. Others are swept up after Good Friday processions.
7. Crucifixion, anyone? (the Philippines)
Every Good Friday, tourists gather in the Philippines to observe the crucifixion. The catch? These people don’t just pay tribute to the crucifixion of Jesus with prayers and songs, but by literally being crucified themselves. Devotees (also called penitents) willingly offer themselves for crucifixion to recreate Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross through their own bodies. Others may carry wooden crosses, whipping oneself, and crawling around on rough or jagged pavement. The locals see these acts as points of penance as they seek to repent from sin. In different parts of the country, such displays are part of passion rites, as annual Lenten rituals.
Some individuals have undergone crucifixion every year for decades, both men and women alike. The Catholic Church rejects this tradition, encouraging the devout to engage in charity work or other practices that do not promote self-harm.
8. A good, red egg (Greece)
While most of the world enjoys dyeing Easter eggs in a variety of colors, the Greek only dye Easter eggs red. Seen as the color of life, the red color represents the blood of Christ. The hard shell on the egg represents Christ’s tomb. These eggs tell the story of victory over death each Easter. On Easter Sunday, each household member cracks an egg open with another family member.
In Corfu, residents toss water-filled clay pots from their balconies at 11 AM on Holy Saturday. Such is said to bring good luck and healthy, new crops. The tradition comes from the Italian (Venice) practice of throwing old items out of one’s house to make room for new ones.
9. Women only in the kitchen (Poland)
Poland is home to a number of Easter traditions, including blessing food in Easter baskets and lamb cakes. One of the most unique involves baking Easter bread. Only women can bake this bread; no men allowed. If the men of the house participate, the bread won’t rise properly…and their mustaches will prematurely gray!
The Polish also have fun on Easter Monday with water fights. Traditionally boys seek out girls first, and then girls get their revenge the next day. According to legend, the girl who gets doused the most will marry within the next year. No one is quite sure where this tradition started, but water is associated with spring rains, relating to growth and fertility. A similar tradition is found in Hungary, where women dress in traditional costume and men throw water on them on Easter Sunday.
10. Decorate the tree with…cigarettes? (Papua New Guinea)
The tropical, humid climate of Papua New Guinea makes less-than-ideal for chocolate and candies. Instead, residents have Easter trees decked with tobacco and cigarettes. Citizens hide packets of cigarettes and tobacco in trees leading up to and around churches, as well as decorations on trees found in church buildings. Congregants look for them or receive them (if they are handed out) after service.
Conclusion
What’s your favorite Easter tradition?
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