How is Easter Celebrated Around the World?

Easter is nearly upon us and will be celebrated across the world!

Here in the UK we have seen chocolate eggs of all sorts on our market shelves for weeks.

However, Easter is not celebrated the same way everywhere in the world. Some countries have their own traditions and some, believe it or not, dont have chocolate eggs!

In the village of Trencianska Tepla (Slovakia), for example, girls are doused with water and whipped in a custom believed to ensure a woman's fertility and beauty!

Let’s have a look at some countries to see how they mark this time of year.

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Easter in Romania

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In Romania there is a funny tradition. Every year, people take part in egg fight competitions. Each match sees two participants that have to hit two boiled eggs against each other - the egg with the strongest shell emerges victorious while the loser is condemned to eat all the eggs that the winner has successfully broken.

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Easter in Russia

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Eggs also have a place of honour in Russian Easter. They are either wonderfully painted or can be also boiled with onion’s peel that will give them a beautiful red colour.

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Easter in Sweden

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If you are to celebrate Easter in Sweden, be prepared for some spooky visits in the evening! As a matter of fact, a mini-Halloween takes place on either the Thursday or Saturday before Easter. Little girls dress as witches and go door to door looking for sweets.

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Easter in El Salvador

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In the municipality of Texistepeque, in El Salvador, “talcigüines” come from an old tradition. They name the people disguised as the devil that run across the streets of the city whipping any spectator on their way. At the end of the day they fall down on the ground as a sign of capitulation. Then, they keep lying on the floor under the burning sun for a long time. Their families must cover them from water so that no one faints.

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Easter in the United States of America

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In the USA, the traditional Easter Egg Rolling takes place every year. Children are looking for hidden chocolate or wooden eggs that were brought by the Easter Bunny in the park, their garden, or… at the White House! Every year, the American President organises one Easter Egg Rolling at the White House on its South Lawn.

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Easter in Australia

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In Australia they no longer talk about the Easter Bunny. In fact, bunnies have been a real issue in Australia and the government is doing its best to address the issue of the long ear animal’s massive proliferation. As a result, the Easter icon in this country has been changed and is now the Easter Bilby. This has been carried out by the government to support the endangered Australian marsupial.

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Easter in Spain

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Easter in Spain is really impressive. If you are staying there at that time you will be able to witness big parades in the streets with all the people taking an active role to this Christian celebration. This week with all the different street celebrations could give you another taste of what Easter can be.

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Easter in Guatemala

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Guatemala hosts colourful and impressive celebrations during the Holy Week. The special feature in Guatemala is the tradition to elaborate really detailed and beautiful carpets. They are used to cover the streets for processions and some can be even one mile long!

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Wishing everyone a happy Easter! Got a tradition to share? Let us know and we will add it!

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Written by Elorn Causer

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 Main photo by Lee McCoy on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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