Easter Traditions Food Recipes Cooking International Guide
Easter Traditions And Variations Of Celebrations
By Katerina Octanova
Most people are pretty familiar with North American Easter traditions,
but aren’t always aware of how the season is celebrated in other
parts of the world.
Even here, the traditions will vary to some degree depending
on whether one interprets this festival as a celebration of the
return of spring, or instead considers the Christian Easter message
to be the primary focus of the season.
Basic Similarities And Variations
Still, there is a lot of overlap, especially in the use of the
Easter egg symbol. It’s the same way with traditions elsewhere
in the world too; basic similarities with interesting variations.
Many countries, especially those with a large Catholic influence
in the culture, celebrate Easter traditions that include what
is known as a Passion Play.
Everyone In The Village Takes Part In The Passion Play
This is where the people of the local church, or sometimes all
the people of the village or town, re-enact the arrest, trial,
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in full costume
with appropriate props.
The town of Oberammergau in Germany is especially well known
for this, with the play taking six hours and as many as 1200 villagers
participating. The village of Fazenda in Brazil is another famous
site of an Easter Passion Play. Both of these productions attract
a lot of tourists, drawn for both spiritual and artistic reasons.
Easter Eggs Painted Red
Congregations associated with the Greek Orthodox branch of the
church use slightly different Easter traditions than those of
the west. For example, while they do use Easter eggs, those in
this tradition are painted red, to symbolize the blood of Christ.
In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, the eggs are lavishly decorated
with complex designs.
These churches and those of other Eastern European countries
also celebrate the season at a slightly different time, since
the dates of Easter are calculated differently in the western
and eastern churches.
In some countries, people probably don’t want to delve too deeply
into the Easter traditions of the society, so the pagan roots
of the customs don’t become troublesome.
Huge Bonfires In Scotland
For example, the huge bonfires that have often been lit on Easter
Saturday in some parts of Scotland owe more to the pagan spring
festivals than to an original Christian influence.
Easter facts like these, though, should not be too troublesome
to believers. In most traditions, what’s considered really important
is the intention of the heart, rather than the surface customs.
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?
What kind of celebration can I have on Christian Easter?
Christian Easter can be celebrated in a wide
variety of ways. It really all comes down to what you believe
and how you believe the day should be celebrated. Most Christians
attend special religious services to mark the ascension of Christ
from his grave.
Some gather together with family members
to celebrate this special holiday. Often parents of young children
will hide colored eggs and leave behind baskets of presents for
their children to find. Then the children can go hunt Easter eggs.
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