The holiday of Easter is fast approaching, and like Christmas, the holiday has moved away from being just a religious one. The exchange of eggs, both chocolate and painted, symbolises the new life that the season of spring brings to the world, and celebrates the fact that the season of winter, darkness and cold is now over. Despite Easter being a global celebration, there are many different and interesting ways in which other countries spend the holiday, as well as the important dates (such as Shrove Tuesday and Lent) that lead up to it. So, here are six different ways that countries around the world celebrate the holiday of Easter!
Brazil: This traditional celebration isn’t specifically related to Easter, but rather, the Shrove Tuesday before Lent. One of the biggest carnival’s in the world Mardi Gras is full of parades, in bright, exotic clothes, with lots of traditional dancing and music. Certainly more dramatic than pancakes!
Ethiopia: This country has several traditions! During Lent, Christians throughout the country are vegan, not consuming any animal products. On Palm Sunday, they wear headbands and rings made of palm leaves, with crosses, and on Easter Saturday, the church services traditionally begin at 8:00pm in the evening, and last until 3:00 AM on the morning of Easter Sunday!
France: Being England’s next-door-neighbour, French traditions are not very different to our own. One notable one, however, is that on Good Friday, or Easter Sunday, Church Bells do not right at all throughout the day. Boxwood branches, instead of palm leaves, are often put over doors in order to bring good luck.
Greece: Similar to Ethiopia, the Easter service begins on the Saturday night, and finishes on Sunday Morning. Fireworks are sometimes used to signal the beginning of Easter Sunday, on which a soup made of Lamb’s stomach is eaten for breakfast, and the rest of the Lamb for the main lunch. They also make a traditional Easter cake, of Oranges and Almonds, which is eaten with Spicy Orange sauce.
Mexico: In Mexico, Easter is made up of two weeks and two different festivals. Semana Santa, otherwise known as the Holy Week, lasts from Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday, and Pascua, the second period, lasts from Easter Sunday, to the Saturday of the next week. Following the Palm Sunday service, the Palms are usually hung outside houses to ward off evil. During Semana Santa, many towns and villages perform passion plays, re-enacting the Easter Story. In some places, there are early morning parades throughout the week, where large statues of Jesus and Mary are carried throughout the streets. On Easter Sunday, there is a giant celebration throughout most towns, whilst some attend Mas, others have a fun-fair type atmosphere, including a festival in the square, with food stalls, games, toys, and sometimes even fair rides.
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