If the UK’s tradition of life-sized bunnies handing out chocolate eggs isn’t eccentric enough for you at Easter time, take some inspiration from Easter traditions across the globe. Here are some of my favourites:
Greece – Smashing fun
Make sure you look up if you’re planning to travel to Corfu this Easter. At 11am on Easter Saturday the noise of crashing pots, joins the sounds of church bells and parading bands, as people hurl earthenware from their windows and balconies onto the streets below. It’s not known quite where the tradition comes from. Some think it is influenced by the Venetians who would throw old objects out of their windows on New Year’s Day, in an out with the old in with the new kind of way. Others believe it welcomes in the Spring and the fresh harvest that will be gathered in new pots.
Germany – Easter Egg Tree
In Germany, ostereierbaum or the Easter egg tree is centuries old.The tradition is exactly as it sounds, decorating trees and bushes with colourful eggs. One of the most stunning examples is from the eastern town of Saalfeld where since 1965, Voker Kraft and his wife, Christa have decorated an apple tree in the garden of their summer house. In 2015 the couple reached the pinnacle of their 50 year tradition in spectacular fashion, taking two weeks to hang 10,000 hand-painted eggs. This is the maximum number they can store, unless as Voker joked the couple take the eggs to bed with them.
France – It’s a whopper
Easter is egg-stra special in the town of Haux in Southern France. Each year villagers come together to cook a giant omlette in the town’s main square. More than 4,500 eggs go into making the omlette, which takes two hours to cook and serves up to 1000 people.
Spain – Midnight dance
The dance of death Easter festival in Verges, Spain now attracts thousands of vistors every Maundy Thursday. La dansa de la mort is a spooky procession where people dressed in skeleton costumes parade through the street carrying sythes, ashes and clocks, accompanied by the sound of beating drums. The dance, which is meant to symbolise the final judgement, begins at midnight and continues for three hours into the early morning.
Bermuda – Let’s go fly a kite
If you visit Bermuda on Good Friday you’re in for a colourful treat as thousands of kites of all shapes and sizes take to the sky. The tradition was started by a local teacher with a British Army connection, who was having difficulty explaining Christ’s assension into heaven so he launched a cross-shaped kite into the air. Originally kites were not flown until after 3pm, but today it has become a big festival at Horseshoe Bay with kite flying on the beach all day long.
Hungary – Soak it up
While the world went crazy for the ice bucket challenge, no doubt some of our Eastern European neighbours wondered what all the fuss was about. In Slovakia, Poland and Hungary the tradition was for boys to visit their girlfriends on Easter Monday and recite a poem (ahhh) and then pour a bucket of water over their head (arrgh!). The idea was that water represented healing, cleansing and fertility. In exchange for a good soaking the girls would then reward their visitors with decorated eggs. Today perfume is often used instead of water, although it is a sprinkle rather than a pail, although in some areas the age-old tradition is alive and well as a vistor attraction with men and women wearing traditional dress to re-enact the ritual.