Worldwide Easter Celebrations

Easter celebrations world over are looked forward to by one. It is time for families to come together to celebrate their holidays through carnivals and cultural extravaganza. Different countries and different cultures have different ways of celebrating Easter. Some countries celebrating this festival in unique ways are:

• In the U.K. to glorify Christ’s resurrection, the people organize special parades and decorate churches. Morris dancers are invited to perform and pancake races are held in the smaller towns.
• In the U.S. you can see carnivals like those in New Orleans accompanied by musical troupes. The Americans enjoy baking hot cross buns and playing the famous Easter egg roll game.
• In Latin American nations the festivities are kicked off by a carnival that takes months to prepare. In Brazilian towns a theatrical display of Christ’s last hours is enacted.
• Such passion plays are even performed in Germany in Oberammergau. Here, family feasts are a prime attraction and Easter fires are made wherein Christmas trees are burned in big fires as a symbol of welcoming spring and bidding adieu to winter.
• In Ethiopia, the people abstain from eating meat and dairy products during Lent but Easter Sunday is known for family feasts and religious services.
• In France as well as in Germany, kids use twigs and dry leaves to build an Easter bunny in their gardens.
• In Greece Easter eggs were colored brightly to symbolize spring and sunshine. The traditional meal consists of the roast lamb and at midnight the sky is filled with dazzling fireworks.
• Sydney in Australia is well known for the Royal Easter Show where farm animals take part followed by parades and fireworks that are major tourist attractions.
• In Wales Easter celebrations begin on a Sunday of Flowers when churchyard graves are adorned with flowers as a mark of preparation for the forthcoming Easter.
• Trinidad culture is famous for beating of the Bobolee during Easter which is a dry effigy of Judas made from old torn clothes that can be beaten with sticks in a public place. The flying of kites during this time also marks the advent of Easter festivities in Trinidad.
• Mexico is known for an Easter ceremony where the children break toy eggs made of bits of paper over each other’s heads in the week just before the Carnivale.
• Easter egg coloring is a form of art that is extensively practiced in countries like Russia, Serbia, Czech Republic etc. here the eggs are brightly painted with geometric shapes.
• In Japan Easter is associated with eating candies and visiting the Urakami Cathedral on Easter Sunday where they are gifted hard boiled chicken eggs to symbolize rebirth.

East or West, Easter is a time of celebrations, a season of remembrance and rebirth, a fun time spent with friends and family and a great way to welcome spring to signal new beginnings into our lives.