When you think Easter, what do you normally think of? Do you think of things like bunnies, Easter eggs, chicks, or maybe even chocolate? Well, these classic North American Easter traditions may not be so familiar in other places across the globe. Easter is the day in the Christian faith, during which Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. This holiday is celebrated by people across the world usually marked by going to church. However, the ways in which Easter is celebrated, other than going to church, varies immensely. Here are a few of the unique and different ways that Easter is celebrated around the world.
#1: Kite Flying in Bermuda
On the island of Bermuda, colourful kites fill the sky between the weekend of Good Friday and Easter Monday. For the holiday, people gather on Horseshoe Bay Beach and fly their own homemade kites. The kites are meant to symbolize Jesus’s ascension to heaven, apparently started by a Sunday school teacher trying to explain how Jesus ascended. Ultimately, this launched the tradition of kite flying. Kites now fill the air Easter weekend ranging in shape, colours, patterns, and designs. There are competitions and categories for kite flyers to attend, and even if you are not a kite flyer, there is a lot of traditional food to be eaten, specifically codfish and hot cross buns!
#2: Colourful Carpets in Guatemala
In Antigua, Guatemala, the cobblestone streets of the city are covered in long, beautiful, and colourful carpets to celebrate Easter. However, these carpets are not the traditional wool carpets people have in their homes. These carpets are made 24 hours before Good Friday processions in which local artists use flowers, colored sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and sand to create elaborate designs and scenes important to them. Despite the hard work and effort put into these carpets, they are only displayed for a short time, as after Good Friday processions are over a cleanup crew comes to remove the pieces!
#3: Easter Witches of Finland
This Finish tradition may sound somewhat familiar to those who celebrate Halloween. Depending on location, either on Holy Saturday or Palm Sunday, young children will dress up as witches and go door to door reciting a rhyme. They will wear colourful clothing, paint freckles on their cheeks, and decorate willow twigs with feathers and other ornaments. The traditional rhyme they say wishes neighbours a healthy and prosperous year. In return, the children are given a chocolate egg or coin. The tradition comes from the belief that the rhyme warded away the evil spirits and witches that would misbehave before Easter.
#4 Giant Omelette in France
In the town of Haux, France, a giant omelette is served in the town square every Easter Monday. The omelette consists of 15, 000 eggs and can feed 1000 people. The omelet is entirely made by volunteer cooks from the Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette, who began this tradition in 1973. Surprisingly, the tradition does not have its roots in Easter, but instead comes from a legend about Napoleon. As the story goes, the French General Napoleon Bonaparte had stopped for a rest near the town of Haux. The omelette he ate was so delicious he commissioned the townsfolk to collect all the eggs they could find and make a giant omelette for his army the next day.
Easter is a holiday celebrated across the world in various ways. Whether it’s flying a kite, dressing up as a witch, or eating a giant omelette everyone celebrates the holiday in their own unique ways. Happy Easter!
Works Cited:
Mahoro, Jasmine. “10 Fascinating Easter Traditions From Around the World”. ReadersDigest. 16 March 2020. https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/easter-traditions-from-around-the-world/
Pina, Chirsty et al. “13 Easter Traditions From Around the World”. woman’s daily. 23 Febuary 2022. https://www.womansday.com/life/travel-tips/g2175/easter-traditions/
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