|
GERMANY
- Germans have an egg tree. A small branch is put in a vase and
decorated with real painted eggs. At
the "Easter fire" all Christmas trees are collected and
burned in a special place, making a huge fire, clearing away the
last signs of the winter and preparing for the spring.
AUSTRALIA
- In recent years
the bilby has been put forward as a new Easter symbol for Australia.
The bilby is a native Australian animal that has recently become
endangered. There have even been some ceremonies in which the Easter
Bunny has officially handed over his basket of Easter Eggs to the
bilby to announce the new custom.
RUSSIA
- Pussy willow branches are picked for Easter and people tap each
other with them for good luck.
SCOTLAND
- Children decorate hard boiled eggs with paints. On Easter Sunday
they will roll them down hills to see who's egg can roll furthest.
FRANCE
- The church bells hand silent from Good Friday until Easter
morning. The legend is that the bells do not ring because they
go to Rome and come back bringing gifts. When the bells
ring on Easter, the children go outside to collect Easter eggs and
candy that have "fallen from the sky."
ITALY
- A visitor to the house never refuses the Easter eggs that have
been blessed by the priest for this event. The eggs are placed
in the middle of a sweet bread that has been shaped into a chick or
bunny.
GREECE
- People carry lighted candles at midnight services Easter
Eve. The worshippers leave the church with their candles lit.
Many believe it is good luck to keep them burning until they reach
home. Crimson eggs are exchanged to honor the blood of Christ.
POLAND
- Sharing a boiled egg with one's relatives is a national tradition.
On Sunday morning, a beautifully
laid table is covered with colored eggs, cold meats, sausages, ham,
cakes and a lamb made of sugar, commemorating the resurrected
Christ.
BULGARIA
- Eggs are
decorated in many colors and an odd number are placed around a
special Easter bread. These will be blessed at church. Eggs
are then cracked when people take turns tapping their chosen egg
against the end of another. Whoever ends up with the last unbroken
egg is thought to have a year of good luck.
SPAIN
- In Murcia, Spain, a table of the last supper contains real food.
On Easter Sunday the table is carried around the town by 26 men.
After the proccession, they sit down and eat the food.
AUSTRIA
- The Osterhase (Easter Bunny) paints the eggs and hides them
the night before Easter in the woods or the garden. The colors that
the eggs are painted also have religious - and secular - meanings.
HUNGARY
- Boys and men visit all their women relatives and friends. When
they get to the girl's house they greet her with a poem. Usually
it's a funny poem about Easter sprinkling, and then they sprinkle
her with perfume.
SWITZERLAND
- The
Swiss go out and roll eggs down the mountains. Fathers are supposed
to whistle on Easter morning to attract the Easter hare. The hare
comes in the house secretly and hides eggs in baskets for the
children to find.
This article may be
re-published on your website as long as the following by-line is
included.
Copyright 2002.
Maggie Halliday is the founder and owner of International Woman, the
magazine connecting women around the world. Visit her website at http://www.internationalwoman.net
to find recipes, weddings, articles and much more!
Back
to Articles |
