It is hard to believe Easter is here again – but it is! Didn’t we just say ‘Happy New Year?' Well, this special season is here and who would complain? Apart from being one of the most significant events on the Christian calendar, Easter is always fun! With loads of special traditions and significance, this is undoubtedly one of the best celebrations every year.
Do you know there are some age long Easter traditions practiced in different parts of the world?
Here is my Top 5 and I am sure there are some you never knew existed; enjoy!
1. FINLAND: To celebrate Easter in Finland, Children are dressed up as witches and go from door to door for chocolate eggs. During this period, the people make great bonfire because they believe flames scare witches and prevent them from flying on their brooms between the special periods of Good Friday to Easter Sunday - can you beat that?
2. POLAND: In Poland, there is an Easter tradition called ‘Smigus-dyngus’ which involve boys drenching themselves in water. They go about pouring buckets of water on people – especially girls (yeah, you guessed right). However, Legends have it that matured girls who are unknowingly drenched by water during this celebration will find husbands in the coming year.
3. SPAIN: In Verges, Spain, the Easter celebration begins on Thursday when a ‘death dance’ to reenact the passion of Christ is carried out. The people dress in skeleton costumes and parade through the streets. The dance starts before midnight and ends about three hours into the morning.
4. GREECE: How about throwing out your pots and pans? On the morning of Holy Saturday, the traditional "pot throwing" takes place on the Greek island of Corfu. People throw pots, pans, and other earthenware out of their windows, smashing them on the street. Some say the custom derives from the Venetians, who on New Year's Day used to throw out all of their old items.
5. CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA: Have you ever had your butt spanked by a stranger before? Well, there is a chance of that happening if you are traveling to these Eastern European countries over Easter. There's an Easter Monday tradition in which men playfully spank women with handmade whips made of willow and decorated with ribbons. According to legend, the willow is the first tree to bloom in the spring, so the branches are supposed to transfer the tree's vitality and fertility to the women.
I hope you enjoyed reading about these traditions as I did? What are your Easter traditions?
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