Religious and secular traditions coexist nowadays at Easter, a sacred time for Christians
If you ask any child about why is Easter known about, he will inevitably refer excited to chocolate eggs. This is not a phenomena associated to the young ones, but a symptom that the religious meaning of this festivity is being displaced by secular traditions. Just the same way that Christmas is being associated to consumerism. Easter hides other surprises apart from the ones in chocolate eggs. Each country has a particular way of celebrating this time of the year, and some of them are not so popular. In this article, we will discover some of those.
The main and most ancient ritual is associated to Christianity. Easter, Pasch or Pascha, reminds Jesus Christ’s resurrection after a long period of praying, fasting and suffering (especially during the Holy Week). For this reason, Lent is accompanied by Christians’ souls preparation, imitating the testing that Jesus Christ had to face. Priests encourage believers to ask for penitence, to fast on set times and celebrate passages of the Bible such as Palm Sunday, the Last Supper and the Good Friday (when Jesus Christ was crucified). At the beginning of Sunday morning, some will receive the Lord lighting a fire near the church and praying with their burning candles. Fewer churches opt for an Easter garden, which imitates Christmas’ Nativity miniatures, but places a stone in front of the tomb. When Sunday arrives, the stone will be removed.
As we approach Good Friday, countries celebrate Easter in a different way. “Pasos” are typical from Spain, where processions are accompanied by religious parades. Imagery symbolizing the characters and stages of Jesus Christ’s Passion is carried by groups of porters, who support the weight on staves or on their shoulders. “Costaleros” follow the instructions of the foreman (“capataz”) and sometimes wear long robes, so that the carving seems to be floating. Originally, this tradition was conceived for easily illustrating the gospel to the illiterate population. The most famous “pasos” take place in Andalucía (in the South of the country), Medina del Campo (Northwest) and Murcia (Southeast).
Traditions in Eastern Europe focus on the notion of “new birth” attached to the festivity. Its festive gastronomy is ruled by symbols such as eggs, spring lamb or green vegetables. Russian Orthodox Church follows its own calendar for this celebration (April or May). As in many other nationalities, decorated eggs and special dishes (like “pashka”, a pyramidal cheese dish) are typical. When the crowning moment of Saturday service (the midnight) arrives, the priest exclaims “Christ is risen!” While bells are ringing, the attendants will say: “He is truly risen!”
Other countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Denmark, Egypt and the United States) play egg rolling. This originally pagan game (associated to Eostre goddess’ feast) was integrated in the Christian festivity, arguing that rolling boiled eggs down the hills imitated how the stone from Jesus Christ’s tomb had also rolled away. Immigrants and European settlers decided then to export to America German traditions like this, as well as the Easter Bunny (a supernatural animal who rewards good children by giving them presents).
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