Celebrating Easter Around the World

Now that it is officially April, it means that Easter is right around the corner! This Sunday, April 9, is Easter Sunday. Easter is a Christian holiday, and Christianity is the most practiced religion across the globe, meaning 2.4 billion people celebrate Easter worldwide. Although it is a worldwide holiday, there are many different cultures around the world and many different ways the holiday is celebrated.

In the United States of America, some common Easter celebrations include going to church, dyeing Easter eggs, having egg hunts, and receiving an Easter basket typically full of candy and chocolates. There is normally a mass held on the morning of Easter Sunday that many Christians and Catholics attend. Kids enjoy dyeing eggs bright colors and receiving baskets full of candy on Easter morning. Easter is also a time for families to come together. Amy Johnson, an American citizen who celebrates Easter, said, “My family and I celebrate Easter by doing annual Easter egg hunts with our family. We also dye Easter eggs and then eat them. Every year we also make an Easter bunny-shaped cake and decorate it with icing and fun sprinkles.” Dyed eggs and bunnies are two very significant symbols of Easter in America.

Easter is celebrated in different ways across the world, and it is interesting to learn about the way Easter celebrations differ globally. In Asia, churches are decorated with butterflies and flowers. In India, rather than just celebrating Easter, they celebrate a spring festival. In South Africa, they celebrate an additional holiday, Easter Monday. Easter Monday became an official holiday in the 1990s. In countries like New Zealand and Australia, Easter occurs during autumn because they are in the southern hemisphere. In these countries, they enjoy eating hot cross buns on Easter. They also use an animal called the bilby as a symbol of Easter because they view bunnies as pests. In Bermuda, Easter is celebrated with a kite fest. Homemade kites decorated with bright colors and geometric shapes are flown on Horseshoe Bay Beach in celebration of Easter.

In Europe, Easter bonfires are lit on Sunday to kick off a two-day Easter celebration. In France, church bells aren’t rung for three days starting on Good Friday to mourn the crucified Christ. In Sweden and Norway, Easter is similar to Halloween in America; kids dress up as witches, read mystery books, and watch shows about Easter crime. In Germany and Italy, the celebration is more food-centered. In Germany, they prepare special meals for Easter. In Italy, they celebrate with an Easter feast of roasted baby lamb and crown-shaped bread with colored candied eggs. England is another country that has specific foods when it comes to Easter. Kofi Akyeampong, who lived in England for 12 years, said, “The most popular foods eaten by the English during Easter are potatoes, fish, or pork and warm scones.” Easter celebration is different in England than in America in that “the culture dominates you,” according to Akyeampong; everyone celebrates Easter in England as opposed to only those who practice Christianity in America. In England, shops are closed on Easter Sunday, as well as the Friday and Saturday before Easter, and everyone has off work to relax and celebrate with their families.

Easter is celebrated throughout the world differently in every culture. Although each celebration is different, overall, Easter is a great opportunity to spend time and celebrate with family and friends!

Sources:

https://www.womansday.com/life/travel-tips/g2175/easter-traditions/
https://www.wycliffe.org/blog/featured/how-easter-is-celebrated-in-countries-around-the-world
https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/blog/news/easter-around-the-world
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/#:~:text=The%20demographic%20study%20%E2%80%93%20based%20on,the%20world%20as%20of%202010.