Easter Celebrations Around the World
As we enter the month of April, we welcome spring. Here in Indiana, Hoosiers can already feel the weather getting warmer and see the plants beginning to bloom. As we celebrate spring and the changing weather, many Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate Easter weekend.
The United States of America
In America, the most prominent symbol of Easter is the Easter bunny. This tradition stems from the 1700s when German immigrants brought over stories of an egg-laying hare. The children made nests in which the Easter bunny could lay its colored eggs. This German tradition quickly became popular and led to how many Americans celebrate Easter now with an Easter egg hunt on Easter morning. Children are visited by the Easter bunny who hides plastic eggs filled with treats.
Americans also celebrate Easter by decorating eggs, a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century and is one of the more common traditions around the world. The egg is an ancient symbol of new life and has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring.
Greece
In Greece, one of the most important Easter traditions is the backing of Greek-style sweet brioche bread, called Tsoureki. This bread is baked in the shape of a braid with three plaits, representing the Holy Trinity. It is also an Easter tradition to die eggs red. These eggs are died red to represent rebirth. The decorations of the red eggs are beautiful and often very creative with different shades of red and intricate designs.
New Zealand
In many countries, Easter helps to welcome the spring season and welcome warmer, fairer weather. This is not the case for New Zealand and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Easter falls during their season of fall just as they welcome winter and the colder months.
One of the Easter traditions most popular in New Zealand is the baking of hot cross buns. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages, and the bun represents the moon and the cross. The baking of hot cross buns on Good Friday is believed to bring good luck and healing properties. Be it symbolic, lucky, or healing, the hot cross buns are a yummy and warm treat to bring in the winter season and a cherished tradition of Easter.
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, a period of fasting is practiced. Christians in this region celebrate ‘Fasika’, which is the Amharic word for Easter and refers to the 55-day period of time leading up to Easter Sunday. During this time, all meat and animal products are not allowed to be eaten until after the Easter Sunday service. After the service, Fasika is officially over and is celebrated with plenty of food, dancing, and family. In Ethiopia, Easter dinner is a bigger celebration than any other holiday meal, since more time is spent preparing for it after a long fast.
Guatemala
In preparation for Good Friday, families design elaborate and beautiful carpets to be drawn on the cobblestone streets of Antigua in Guatemala. Families often plan and design their carpets months ahead of time and is Antigua’s most famous tradition.
The long carpets are made from flowers, colored sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and sand. Each carpet is often covered in scenes that are important to the artists who make them, ranging from religion to Mayan traditions to Guatemalan history. Some pieces can stretch as long as half a mile, and artists use stencils to assemble them quickly since they have just 24 hours to create their work of art the day before the Good Friday procession. These carpets are designed to disappear after the procession passes them.
Italy
Easter Sunday is celebrated in Florence, Italy with a tradition stemming from the First Crusade in the Holy Land in 1099. This tradition is called Scoppio del Carro, or the ‘Explosion of the Cart’. This tradition started when a young Florentine named Pazzino demonstrated great courage in the First Crusade and brought back three flints from the Holy Sepulchre that he received for his act of courage.
Today, the celebration is held in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore better known as the Duomo, where a large cart rigged with fireworks sits in front of the Duomo. In the Duomo, the ‘Gloria’ is sung and the Archbishop uses Pazzino’s three flints to light a dove-shaped rocket, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. This dove-shaped rocket, once lit, flies out down a wire to the outside of the Duomo and lights the cart, setting off a wonderful firework display.
Vatican City
The center of the Easter celebration for Christians happens at Vatican City. Tens of thousands of people come from all over the world to fill St. Peter’s Square and to attend Easter Mass at the Vatican by the Pope. Last year, roughly 50,000 people attended Pope Francis’s Easter Mass.
The Vatican’s altar is decorated with an array of beautiful flowers from the Netherlands, which has been a tradition for 37 years. Most of the mass is traditionally held in Latin and Greek, with brief parts of the mass being spoken in many other languages from around the world. After the mass has concluded, the Pope gives his Urbi et Orbi benediction, a Latin phrase that means, “to the city (Rome) and the world.”
The International Center
The International Center recognizes Easter as an important and significant religious holiday and wishes everyone who celebrates a Happy Easter. This religious holiday is celebrated around the world and shows how different parts of the world celebrate the same event. It is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate different customs and traditions. The International Center is passionate about bridging cultural differences and bringing people together through understanding, celebration, and mutual learning experiences. Happy Easter to those who celebrate and happy spring!
By Megan Lunn, marketing & communications intern
