Easter Food Recipes Cooking International Guide
Easter Worldwide Celebrations
By Katerina Octanova
Easter is celebrated in many different ways, in many different
countries. In Bermuda, colorful kites are flown to symbolize Christ’s
ascent into heaven. In Norway, people solve murder mysteries,
play Yahtzee and go cross-country skiing.
In Finland, Sweden and Denmark, children dress as witches, pass
out decorated pussy willows and collect candy door-to-door. In
the Netherlands and Northern Germany, great fires are lit.
In Slavic cultures, eggs are painted, butter lambs are eaten
and Easter Monday is commemorated with playful whippings and water
gun wars. No matter how it is celebrated, the Easter holiday is
a special time for religious and non-religious people alike.
The Importance Of During Easter
There are numerous non-religious traditions associated with the
celebration of Easter. Since they represent "new life,"
eggs are an important part of many celebrations. For instance,
the Easter egg hunt is celebrated in America, where kids compete
to see who can find the most hidden eggs.
Each year, there is an egg rolling contest on the White House
lawn, where kids use a spoon to push the eggs along the ground
to the finish line. In England, there are egg tapping competitions,
where each person tries to break their opponent’s egg with their
egg; the winners get a prize, while the losers must eat their
shattered egg.
Decorating Eggs Exquisitely
In Russia, Romania, Poland and Ukraine, people decorate eggs
exquisitely, using wax and dye, hand painting, jewels, lace templates
or other intricate methods.
The Easter dinner varies from culture to culture. Ham is a common
dish among Americans, Canadians, Hungarians and Germans, as the
pig is seen as a portent of good luck. Eggs are eaten in almost
every tradition, whether it is Ireland, Syria, Norway, Armenia
or France. Italians feast on lamb, cheese, rabbit leg, fragguno,
dipping sauces and pasta.
Delicious Desserts For Easter
Sweet breads, hot cross buns and simnel cake are delicious desserts
from Greece to Britain to Egypt. At Easter, the Polish eat kielbasa,
roasted duck, eggs, baked ham, hot sour rye soup, dill cucumbers
and babka cake. Germans eat seven herb soup, fish, lamb, eggs
and chocolates. The Jewish feast includes matzo, hardboiled eggs,
fruits, vegetables, macaroons, potatoes, fresh milk, borscht soup,
cheese and chicken.
The Season Of Fasting During Lent
The celebration of Easter begins forty days prior to Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday begins the Christian season of Lent, which is a
time of fasting, abstaining from meat, much prayer and acknowledging
one’s sins. At masses, a cross made of ash is placed on each person’s
forehead and the congregation is anointed with sacred oils. Good
Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday, is acknowledged as the
day Jesus died on the cross. It is another day of fasting, abstaining
from meat, mass and prayer.
At mass, there are no bells, no candles and a completely bare
altar; in some churches, there is no Holy Communion either. Hours
are often spent in silence grieving the death of the savior and
there are special readings where the congregation reads or acts
out the crucifixion. Many churches have pictorial depictions of
the crucifixion called "the stations of the cross."
Finally, on Easter, there is a mass of great rejoice, feasting
and celebrating.
About the Author:
Katerina Octanova has written a number of articles on food and
cooking including Christmas
Gift Baskets, The
Christmas, Christmas,
Santa
Claus, Christmas
Hamper, Christmas
Party, Christmas
Gift For The Office, Christmas
Gift Idea For Family.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Did You Know?
Have you given much thought to what types of items you are going
to be putting in your Easter baskets this year? There are always
the more traditional items such as colored eggs and chocolate
bunnies.
But what about something that will be truly unique and make your
basket really stand out? Maybe you should try a beautiful set
of earrings for a little girl or a cute tie for a little boy?
You do not have to spend a lot to make your basket special. You
can find some really great deals online.
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