Table of Contents
- Introduction to Insane Traditions for Easter
- Easter Traditions List
- Giant Omelette Festival – France
- Cracking of Dyed Eggs – Greece
- Crucifixion on Easter – Philippines
- Sprinkling the Womenfolk – Hungary
- Criminal Intent on Easter – Norway
- Butter Lambs for Easter Table – Russia
- Tobacco Trees – Papua New Guinea
- Conclusion:
Easter means hope.
Easter means warmth.
Easter means togetherness – of family and friends!
This is the second most expected holiday after Christmas every year. The Christians celebrate it in April every year with its own set of Traditions for Easter.
Everyone, not just Christians, celebrates Easter because it is a celebration of life.
Easter is all about celebrating the triumph of life over death as “Victory over Death,” symbolised by Jesus’ resurrection, and is thus the central event in the Christian life.
*resurrection – (in Christian belief) the rising of Christ from the dead.
This year’s Easter is right around the corner, which falls on March 31st, 2024.
According to old customs, Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, though the date varies.
- In 2024, it’s falling on March 31st.
- In 2025, it will fall on April 20th.
- In 2026, it will fall on April 05th.
Easter egg hunts, chocolate Easter bunnies, and colourful eggs
Chocolate bunnies, colourful Easter eggs, and Easter lambs are the most common things we remember regarding the Easter holiday.
But there are many more insane and interesting traditions for Easter that people have followed for generations worldwide and still follow.
Let’s dive into the top seven Traditions for Easter from seven different countries.
(1) Giant Omelette Festival – France
Abbeville is a commune in France, where the Giant Omelette Festival happens on November first week of every year. The weird thing is they celebrate this festival in November with regard to Easter which falls in April.
History says that while visiting the area, Napoleon Bonaparte enjoyed his eggs so much that he requested a giant omelette be prepared for his troops.
Every year, the experienced chefs of Abbeville get together with the community, prepare the giant omelette, share, eat and celebrate.
Blessings of the eggs at the church, possession of chefs, cracking of eggs, and chefs’ final tasting are some of the significant parts of the event.
It is a true celebration in Abbeville, with dancing, music, and street food vendors lined up.
Here’s an interesting fact. Every year, we add one more egg while making the omelette. In 2022, the chefs cooked 5032 eggs, as 2022 was the 32nd year of this tradition. In 2023, they will add one more to the egg bowls and cook 5033 eggs.
Spoiler Alert: Actually, the output will be the scrambled eggs. Obviously, flipping the massive omelette to the other side is nearly impossible.
(2) Cracking of Dyed Eggs – Greece
The game is called ‘tsougrisma,’ played on Easter Saturday.
Greeks dye the eggs red on Holy Thursday – the Thursday before Easter Sunday.
Why red?
It is to signify the blood shed by Jesus when he was crucified.
*crucified – nailed or bound someone to a cross as an ancient punishment.
In ‘tsougrisma,’ two people compete against each other. The final winner will crack the eggs of all other players participating in the Easter Saturday dinner using his/her egg.
The cracking of the egg represents the opening of the tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Have you ever wondered why eggs are involved in the Easter traditions?
Egg was a fertility symbol in many cultures around the world. As a result, on the holy day of Easter, people celebrate fertility by using eggs as a symbol.
(3) Crucifixion on Easter – Philippines
What is Crucifixion in the first place?
Crucifixion was an ancient form of execution in which a person was nailed or bound to a cross, just like what happened to Jesus.
It’s reenacting the Crucifixion and other blood-bathing reenactments of Jesus Christ’s suffering.
The tradition of Crucifixion happens at San Pedro Cutud San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines.
It is popularly called “the bloody show of devotion.”
The devotees say that they can express their faith through extreme acts.
The travellers say they have never seen such an Easter tradition in any other country.
The catholic bishops of the Philippines say that the brutality that happened to Jesus is more than enough, as it is solely unnecessary to reenact them in any form, and I cannot agree more with them.
(4) Sprinkling the Womenfolk – Hungary
The Sprinkling happens on Easter Monday – the Monday after Easter Sunday.
In old times, men threw cold water at girls of marriageable age. On Easter Monday, people allowed men to throw a bucket of cold well water over girls of marriageable age and even dip them in a stream.
Today, men still “sprinkle,” but with perfume rather than water, though there are villages where the original tradition is still practised among the Traditions for Easter Hungary and the suburbs.
This custom is linked to an ancient fertility ritual. However, “sprinkling with water” is also a sign of baptism, and this custom can be traced back to the Jerusalem legend.
According to history, Roman soldiers poured water on the women of Jerusalem who were proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection to silence them.
Whip-cracking and Sprinkling on Easter: The Czech Republic & Slovakia have the same traditions.
(5) Criminal Intent on Easter – Norway
So far, the Easter tradition in Norway is my absolute favourite.
For Norwegians, Easter means immersing themselves in crime fiction; the people are voluntarily and mandatorily into it. Norwegians call the custom “Påskekrim”.
Påskekrim means Easter Crime.
Easter holidays are the most important holidays in Norway regions. The streets will be empty. So, where do the people vanish?
They drive to their cabins in the woods and the mountains. It is weird. It is indeed curious, and it is suspicious as well. Is it not?
And what do the Norwegians do in their cabins? They primarily read crime novels and watch crime and detective shows on TV. They also go skiing since the season is the end of winter in Norway.
How did it all start? The phenomenon was triggered by the immense popularity of a crime novel in 1923 set on the Bergen railway.
In addition, the colour of Easter in Norway is Yellow, and it’s all about yellow rabbits and yellow-covered chocolates.
(6) Butter Lambs for Easter Table – Russia
A butter lamb is a hand-carved or moulded butter sculpture that the Russians keep on their Easter dinner table.
It represents “the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin,” as the New Testament says. In other words, the lamb stands in for Jesus.
Butter lambs are made at home or bought from stores.
Having butter lamb on the Easter dinner table is cute and feels holy.
(7) Tobacco Trees – Papua New Guinea
We all know about Christmas trees decorated with lights and ornaments every year. But have you ever heard about Tobacco Trees?
Yes, they exist – in Papua New Guinea, an island in the southwestern Pacific. In fact, it is the world’s largest island country.
The Tobacco Tree is called the Easter Tree.
People decorate the trees outside their homes with tobacco sticks and packets of cigarettes. During the Easter season, people use these trees as places of worship. Churches similarly display a tobacco tree, much like they do a crib at Christmas. Strange but interesting. Is it not?
Now that is a list of fascinating, terrible, curious, and cute Easter traditions worldwide.
To add a couple more customs to the list, the Great Easter Bunny Hunt is another tradition that happens in New Zealand but not every year.
The Easter Bonnet Parade in Australia used to be a tradition where women make different bonnets and go in a parade. Even though this no longer exists, it happens on a small scale in schools and preschools to keep the traditions alive.
Easter is quickly approaching this year, and I’ve provided you with seven different Traditions for easter Conversation Topics.
Happy Easter and Have a Great Time! Start packing those bags and get in gear because the Easter holiday is sneaking up on us faster than a chocolate bunny disappears!
