Easter in European countries

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Easter in European countries
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Spain

• The Easter Week, known in Spain as Semana Santa,
  begins with the Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday)
  and end with Lunes de Pascua (Easter Monday).On
  Palm Sunday, people go to mass in the morning and
  children carry palm leaves to be blessed by the
  priest.On Palm Sunday most churches organize a
  parade to mark the arrival of Christ into
  Jerusalem.On Easter Sunday, in Almaden de la
  Plata near Seville, rag and straw effigies of
  famous people are placed at different locations
  of the village. These dolls are finally torn
  apart and the pieces thrown into the air. In
  Castilblanco de los Arroyos, they place similar
  dummies in the streets which are later set on
  fire. The dolls are known as Judas dolls.The
  feast of Easter Sunday on Spain is also special.
  On this day, godfather presents his godchild with
  a cake known as La Mona. These are generally
  traditional pan shape found in various shapes
  from simple round or oval to Disney characters,
  toys and anything else. Another popular Spanish
  Easter dish r is the torrijas. It is a lovely
  blend of slices of warm bread soaked in milk,
  sugar and egg, then fried in olive oil. They are
  served along with wine, syrup, honey, sugar or
  cinnamon for extra touch of festivities.

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Russia

• Orthodox churches in Russia have an inner
  sanctuary away from the reach of worshipers, and
  only to the access of the priest. On this day,
  the door is closed till midnight but at the
  stroke of midnight, the priest opens the door and
  comes out saying "Christ is risen! Christ is
  risen! Christ is risen!" and after hours of
  silent anticipation, the worshippers rely back
  He is risen indeed!" Another interesting Easter
  ritual in Russia is the Easter egg decoration.
  Easter egg decoration is an important part Easter
  traditions in Russia. The predominant color for
  egg dyeing in Russia is red. The red dye is
  chosen because it symbolizes the blood of Christ.
  Furthermore, people crack the eggs open using
  nails, in order to remind themselves again of the
  death of Christ. Another integral aspect of
  Easter celebrations in Russia is the family
  Easter dinner which is a community affair at the
  Church itself. The Easter dinner is a sumptuous
  feast, in which the entire congregation
  celebrates together. Russian people traditionally
  bake Easter cakes, known as "kulich," and make
  curd paskha and bring it to church along with
  them and asked the priest to bless it before they
  share it together in the community celebrations.

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Germany

• Germany is regarded the birthplace of modern day
  Easter icons such as Easter bunny and Easter
  tree. German kids were told of an "Easter bunny"
  (Osterhase) that hid eggs and chocolates for
  children to find on Easter Sunday. German
  immigrants to America - particularly Pennsylvania
  - brought the tradition with them and spread it
  to a wider public. Today, Easter eggs are
  exchanged as presents in Germany. The tradition
  of egg tree is also popular in Germany. Easter
  tree, another symbol associated with the
  celebration of the festival in Germany, is
  embellished beautifully with hollowed eggs, which
  are dyed and hung with colorful ribbon,
  throughout the Holy Week. Another unique custom
  associated with the celebration of Easter in
  Germany is the "Easter fire". For the fire, all
  Christmas trees are collected and burned in a
  special place, making a huge bonfire, clearing
  away the last signs of the winter and preparing
  for the spring. The bonfire welcomes the
  bountiful spring and bids goodbye to the chilly
  winter.

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Czech Republic

• On Easter, people in Czech Republic eat lip
  smacking delicacies that are prepared especially
  for the festival. Usually, traditional Czech
  Republic recipes are made for the ceremonious
  occasion. Czechs eat a type of coffee bread
  called 'Babovka'. 'Mazanec' is another special
  Easter food, which is a yeast-raised cake filled
  with almonds, raisins and citron. A cross is cut
  into the top of the cake, just before it goes
  into the oven. Easter gingerbread, Easter Ram
  Cake, Judas Cake, 'Gods Mercy' (a type of
  doughnut sprinkled with sugar) are some of the
  traditional recipes, which should not be missed,
  when you are celebrating Easter in Czech
  Republic.Decoration of Easter eggs is one of the
  popular traditions associated with the
  celebration of the festival in Czech Republic.
  Hand-painted or decorated eggs (kraslice) are the
  most recognizable symbol of Easter in the
  European nation. Different materials including
  bee's wax, straw, watercolors, onion peels,
  stickers are used to decorate the eggs. As a part
  of the traditions, young girls decorate Easter
  eggs to give them as presents to boys, on Easter
  Monday.

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Bulgarian

• Easter is one of the most significant holidays in
  the Bulgarian calendar. Starting with Palm
  Sunday, the holy week leads up to the Great Day.
  In the country, the festival is popularly known
  as "Velikden", which literally means 'the faith
  in the resurrection of Jesus Christ'. Easter
  traditions in Bulgaria are a derivative of the
  Eastern Orthodox Church rituals. In tune with
  worldwide Orthodox traditions, bright red colored
  eggs and Easter breads known as "kolache" or
  "kozunak" are the prominent symbols of Easter in
  Bulgaria. At midnight on the Saturday before
  Easter Sunday, people in Bulgaria gather at
  church, with red painted eggs and bread.
• The Bulgarian 'good luck crack' is a unique
  Easter tradition in Bulgaria. Eggs are cracked
  after the midnight service and over the next few
  days, during the festive season of Easter. On
  Easter, the eggs are cracked before lunch. The
  egg that is cracked on the wall of the church is
  the first egg that people eat after the long fast
  of Lent. People take turns in tapping their eggs
  against the eggs of others, and the person who
  ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to
  have a year of good luck. He/she is considered as
  the most successful, healthy and happy person for
  the rest of the year.

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Italy

• Most of the Italian population is a follower of
  Christianity so all of the Christian festivals
  like Christmas, Easter and Good Friday are
  observed here in almost all the families. Easter,
  one of the major festivals of Christians is also
  held in high regard in the country and celebrated
  with great gusto. As this day is celebrated in
  order to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus
  after crucifixion, this day is considered to be
  very holy and auspicious. Though you may miss the
  Easter bunny in the Easter celebrations of Italy,
  there are many other rituals that will keep your
  pre-occupied in the Easter celebrations at Italy.
• The Easter dinner is usually a feast arranged
  with special delicacies. The most important dish
  is Agnellino, roasted baby lamb. Eggs feature
  prominently in the day's dishes, in both soups
  such as Brodetto Pasquale, a broth-based Easter
  soup thickened with eggs, and various kinds of
  breads, both sweet and savory. Pannetone and
  Colomba (dove shaped) breads are also given as
  gifts. Hollow chocolate eggs that usually contain
  something surprising inside are also presented to
  near and dear ones. Gifts exchange in various
  other forms is also popular in Italy.

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Poland

• Easter is one of the major Christian festivals
  celebrated in order to commemorate the holy
  resurrection of Jesus Christ after his
  crucifixion
• The "blessing basket" is one of the unique Easter
  traditions in Poland. The blessing basket is
  prepared the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The
  basket, stashed with colored eggs, bread, cake,
  salt, paper and white colored sausages, is taken
  to the church to have it blessed. This tradition
  stems from the belief that the Great Lent, which
  is the forty day fast before Easter, is not over
  until the basket has been blessed. Hence it is
  called the Blessing Basket. The family breakfast
  on Easter Sunday morning is an important part of
  Polish Easter celebration. On the breakfast
  table, each of the participants wishes the others
  of the family good luck and happiness. The table
  is decorated with green leaves and a sugar lamb
  may be placed as a centre-pieceserved.. A piece
  of egg with salt and pepper, sanctified by
  priest, is a vital item on this occasion. Another
  traditional ritual is Dyngus or Smingus Dyngus,
  celebrated on the first Monday after Easter. On
  this day boys roam around the neighborhood to
  sprinkle girls with water or perfume.

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• Thank you for the attention
• András Mór, Tamás Papp and Patrik Szekér