March 13, 2024
Easter is hopping around the corner, so what better time to take a quick trip around the world exploring five Easter customs? Traditionally, Easter is a Christian celebration for the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his third day of crucifixion. The dates of festivities vary each year for different faiths following either the Old Julian Calendar or the New Gregorian Calendar.
In modern Western culture, many countries have come to know this holiday season as one filled with chocolate eggs, hot cross buns, and Easter egg hunts set out by the “Easter Bunny.” Nevertheless, traditional customs are still upheld from a diverse array of cultures, religions, communities, and influences, as we explore with these five Easter customs from around the world.
1. Eastern Orthodox Eggs
Step into the vibrant world of Eastern Orthodox Easter traditions, where the artistry of decorating and blessing eggs intertwines with deep religious symbolism. Chicken eggs are boiled and dyed red to symbolise the blood of Christ. Over time, this decorating process has expanded into an exciting creative display using leaf stencils, stickers, and an array of colours and patterns. Different Orthodox traditions traditionally decorate eggs on certain days, such as Greek Orthodox doing so on Holy Thursday and Serbian Orthodox on Holy Friday, yet all take their eggs to church on Easter Sunday to have them blessed.
Finally, and perhaps the most anticipated by many, is the egg cracking game, known as Tsougrisma in Greek, and Tucanje Jaja in Serbian, to name a few. The game is played by two people, each holding a newly blessed egg, where one uses the bottom of their egg to tap the top of the opponent’s egg, and then vice versa. Not only does the cracking of the eggshell symbolise the opening of the tomb for Christ, but whoever’s egg withstands being cracked is the winner and thus granted luck for the year.
Of course, the eggs are never wasted and are eaten at a large gathering known as the “Feast of Feasts” on Easter Sunday, which shares foods that were forbidden during the 40-day Lent. Variations of these traditions span across the many different Orthodox around the world.
You can explore more from these cultures with our programs Opa! Greek Dance and Culture and Rebetika – The Greek Blues available in Victoria, and Balkan Beats available in Queensland.
2. Ethiopian Hudadi
As Easter approaches, many religions undertake Lent – a fasting period where one abstains from consuming any animal products and alcohol. In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians (Tewahedo faith), Catholics, and Protestants celebrate “Fasika,” meaning Easter in Amharic, and undertake Hudadi – a fasting period lasting 55 days. As the Ethiopian Orthodox Church places more significance on the death and resurrection of Christ rather than his birth, these celebrations last a week longer than those of the Western calendar, with an extra fifteen days of fasting than that of Eastern Orthodox Lent. During Hudadi, Ethiopians enjoy a range of tsom megreb – fasting dishes of vegetables, pulses, and seasoning.
On Holy Sunday, a sheep is sacrificed, symbolizing a biblical story from the Old Testament with prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, and marks the end of Hudadi. Singing and dancing erupt, and the fast is broken with a range of dishes and traditional beverages such as tej – a homemade honey wine, and tella – a fermented beer-like brew.
These jubilations not only bring attention to Christian traditions but highlight the vibrant diversity of Ethiopian culture, which you can engage with further in our Ethiopian Dance & Culture program available in Victoria.
3. Antigua’s Alfombras
Explore the enchanting streets of Antigua, recognized in 1976 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural, political, and architectural significance, nestled in southern Guatemala. If its baroque buildings are not spellbinding alone, the streets of Antigua are covered with intricate and vibrant carpets called alfombras during Semana Santa (the Holy Week in Spain) in preparation for Good Friday.
Antigua gives a nod to its European roots with the alfombras veiling central roads which pass the Santa Catalina Arch. With only 24 hours to be made, local artists gather with stencils to create these works spanning up to several hundred meters. Utilizing flowers, coloured sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and sand, artists highlight different scenes significant to them on the alfombras, particularly those of religious nature, Mayan traditions, mother nature, and Guatemalan history.
But the colour explosion does not stop here. On Good Friday, city-goers dress in purple robes alongside priests and parade through Antigua’s streets. Following a Catholic tradition, they carry floats depicting Christ through the 14 stations of the cross. To bring the festive procession to a close, the alfombras are kicked together in a vivid exhibit and are shortly followed by a cleaning team who sweep the sawdust, wiping away the artworks until the next year.
Schools can celebrate more aspects of Latin American culture with our immersive programs, such as Latino Grooves offered in South Australia.
4. Finnish Tiny Witches
Embark on a journey to Finland, where Easter takes on a unique twist with children donning colourful costumes as ‘trulli’ witches. Children dressing up as witches, knocking on doors, and singing carols in exchange for chocolates may sound like a Halloween tradition, but in Finland, this is a special Easter custom with religious and rite of spring influences.
Witches look a little bit different from the stereotypical, black-adorned characters, where children wear colourful cloths and paint freckles on their faces. Stemming from the Swedish word “trollan,” meaning troll or tiny witch, these Finnish Easter witches are called “trulli.”
The ritual of this popular family tradition is for the children to decorate willow branches with vibrant ribbons, feathers, and crepe paper and go door to door in their costumes offering to ward away evil spirits in exchange for sweet treats. The “trulli” then recite a traditional Finnish phrase, “Virvon, varvon, tuoreeks terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks; vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!,” meaning, “wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year ahead; a twig for you, a treat for me!”
The roots of this custom stem from two old traditions. The first being a Russian Orthodox ritual where birch twigs symbolized the laying of palm branches for the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Secondly, it circulates back to pagan customs, where in Finland and other Scandinavian countries it was believed that witches were most powerful around spring and Easter.
However, the festive traditions are not only limited to “trulli” costumes and acts. In preparation for Easter, children in Finland will plant grass seeds and place birch twigs in water vases, watching eagerly for “mouse-ear” green buds to appear which symbolize the springtime reawakening of life.
5. Bessières Giant Omelette Festival
France is world-renowned for its culinary skills, and the Bessières Giant Omelette Festival is nothing short of this reputation. This three-day event over Easter incorporates dinners, parades, performances, and Easter Egg Hunts. If the name does not give it away, on Easter Monday, a colossal omelette of 15,000 eggs is cooked to feed over 2,000 mouths.
Over 100 volunteers dressed in yellow and white gather to crack eggs into large bowls until the pile of eggshells reaches a meter high. Identified by their extra tall chefs’ hats, the Bessières’ Chevaliers (knights) engage with comically large ingredients and tools – an 850kg 4-meter frying pan, 70 litres of duck fat, and hand-held paddle mixers usually used for concrete. After half an hour of intensive stirring, thousands of paper plates and forks are distributed to the locals and visitors gathered around the square to share the delicacy.
The tradition comes from a story that when Napoleon Bonaparte stopped in the town and ordered an omelette, he was so enamoured with the dish that he demanded an omelette large enough to feed his troops be made the following day.
Since its commencement in 1973, this Easter tradition has inspired six other giant omelette festivals around the world – in Provence, Belgium, Argentina, New Caledonia, Louisiana, and Quebec – each with their own distinct flavour. The original festival in Bessières seasons their giant omelette with chopped chives, salt, pepper, and the mild chili pepper, piment d’Espelette. Not only does this festival commemorate the historic omelette for Napoleon’s troops but has since grown to celebrate local communities and friendships.
At Cultural Infusion, we help schools celebrate French culture with our range of talented presenters. We offer Mime Magnifique! In Victoria, as well as Les Chansons Français in Queensland and Classic French Music in New South Wales.
Take the opportunity this Easter to not only enjoy your own traditions and festivities, but to acknowledge and embrace the diverse customs of the many cultures and faiths who share this celebration. From egg decorating and crafts to new dishes and community activities, you may be inspired by these five Easter customs to participate and celebrate other traditions. At Cultural Infusion, we believe through intercultural understanding and solidarity, we can create a more harmonious world. Let us all celebrate the diversity that makes our world vibrant.
Explore our full list of cultural programs here, available Australia wide. With any booking, enjoy 3 months of free intercultural education resources from Learning Lands.
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