Easter Traditions Here and There – Slightly Updated

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Global Issues, History, Holidays, Humour

Today is Easter.  In this household, it means coloured eggs hidden in the nooks ‘n crannies and baskets full of goodies that this diabetic doesn’t need, but will happily munch on anyway!  In honour of the holiday, I am recycling a post I first wrote in 2016, reprised in 2017 & 2018, and have not posted since, so for many of you it will be all new!  I made a few minor alterations for links that were no longer functional.  Different countries and cultures celebrate the holiday with a variety of traditions, and I find it fascinating to look at how others’ traditions vary from our own.  First, however, a brief bit about that highly controversial Easter candy, Peeps!

PeepEaster is almost upon us, and that means what?  You got it!  Chocolate Bunnies!  Chocolate Eggs!  And Peeps.  I will eat an occasional Peep, but I far prefer the ears of a chocolate bunny.  That said, I don’t hate Peeps and they are rather cute.  There is a joke circulating on social media that goes something like this: “What is the best way to eat a Peep?  Throw it in the trash.”  That seems a bit sad to me, though I have certainly tossed enough of them in the trash after they sat around until they were hard enough to knock a cat unconscious.  And if you don’t mind cleaning up a mess, try putting one in the microwave for just a few seconds! Anyway … check out this gallery of Peeps!  Cute and imaginative! Peeps Gallery

On a side note, just today I saw in the news that the company that makes Peeps, Just Born Quality Confections, is at war with its union workforce as they are attempting to block new employees from enrolling in their pension plan.  The battle, according to The Washington Post, “has featured a strike, Twinkies related bankruptcy, irreparably broken friendships, obscene T-shirts and a locked-up Peepsmobile.”  Not exactly in the holiday spirit, is it?And if you really cannot figure out what to do with all those Peeps the kiddos found in their Easter baskets, why not try this recipe:  Peeps-Infused Vodka

Peeps-vodka

Today I am thinking that I’m glad I do not live in either the Czech Republic or Greece, though the Greek island of Corfu might be okay.  I will explain why in a minute.  People celebrate holidays in different ways around the globe, and I find it interesting to learn about the different traditions, foods and celebrations in other countries.  Having lived my entire life in the U.S. and only rarely traveled abroad, I am woefully ignorant of the customs of other nations.  So, I was excited this morning to find an article in my daily Newsweek digest titled “10 Bunny-Free Easter Traditions From Around The World”.

In the Czech Republic, Easter is celebrated on Monday and one of the traditions is for men to whip women!  Now, to my male readers … don’t get any ideas!  “On Easter Monday in the Czech Republic, men playfully spank women with whips made of willow and decorated with ribbons. According to legend, the whipping is supposed to improve fertility, health and beauty because the willow is the first tree to bloom in spring.”  Most of the Czech Easter traditions relate to spring and the beginning of new life.  Here in the U.S., most of us toss some food colouring and vinegar in boiling water and dip a few dozen hard-boiled eggs in the coloured water. But in the Czech Republic, they create beautiful, hand painted eggs.  Czech eggs

They have some other fun traditions throughout Easter week, starting with “Ugly Wednesday”.  Czech it out for yourself here.

Greece has a multitude of traditions, as it is comprised of more than 200 inhabited islands (6,000 altogether), but the one that caught my eye was this: “In Corfu, people throw pots, pans and other kitchenware out of their windows on the morning of Holy Saturday. Some say the custom can be traced back to the Venetians, who used to get rid of any old items on New Year’s Day.”  I think of this as a win-win … either they get new cookware (preferably Cuisinart), or they get to say “sorry … I couldn’t cook tonight, so make yourself a sandwich.”  If they do this for a few nights, then they probably get the Cuisinart soon anyway!  However, another that I was not so enamored of was this: “It’s customary to eat a stew of lamb’s stomach after Easter Sunday Mass. The dish, also known as patsas or tripe soup, is seasoned with red wine vinegar and garlic or thickened with avgolemono (egg-lemon sauce).”  Maybe I will just keep my old pots ‘n pans after all.

Bulgarians really know how to have fun on Easter … they have a huge egg fight, or “choukane s yaitsa”.  “Opponents smash their eggs into each other with the egg left unbroken proclaimed the winner or borak. The winning egg is kept until next Easter and is a sign of good luck.”  Now, the egg fight sounds like fun … though I’m not sure if the eggs are raw or hard-boiled — seems like raw eggs would be more entertaining and less painful.  But keeping the egg until next Easter?  I am not so sure about that part.  Ever smell an egg that was just a few weeks past being edible? Not a fun olfactory experience.  Bulgarians also have a unique superstition. “It is believed if one hears a cuckoo midway during Lent, spring is coming. Likewise, if one has money in his pocket at the sound of the cuckoo, he will be rich in the coming year, but if one has no money or is hungry, then that will likely be how the rest of the year will play out.”  I do not think we have cuckoo birds where I live, but I have some friends who might fit nicely into this category.

“In Hungary and Poland, it is tradition for men to throw water over young women’s heads, and then ask for a kiss. In Poland, the custom can be traced back to the baptism of Prince Miezsko on Easter Monday in 966 AD, bringing Catholicism to the country.”  What is it with men picking on women as an Easter tradition???  Does anybody see a misogynistic trend here?  And frankly, if you dump water on my head, the likelihood of getting a kiss from me is pretty much nil.

A bit of Easter trivia:

  • Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring
  • Easter eggs are considered a symbol of new life and rebirth
  • Eggs contain almost every nutrient essential to humans
  • The Easter Bunny was originally the Easter Hare.  He functioned somewhat like an Easter Santa Claus, evaluating children’s behaviour and rewarding good children with coloured eggs.
  • Originally children built nests for the Easter Hare to leave the eggs inside.
  • The tradition of coloured eggs originated in the Ukraine and the decorated eggs were believed to protect homes from evil spirits.
  • $14.6 billion is spent on Easter items annually
  • $2.1 billion is spent on Easter candy, making Easter second only to Halloween for candy sales
  • 120 million pounds of Easter candy is consumed annually
  • 16 billion jelly beans are manufactured annually, and if laid end-to-end, would circle the globe nearly three times!  That is a heck of a lot of jelly beans!
  • 76% of people eat the ears off the chocolate bunnies first (I am in the majority here)
  • Swiss tradition holds that a cuckoo, not a bunny, delivers the eggs (what is it with Easter and cuckoos?)

Many thanks to fellow blogger Thumbup at The Playground for the above fun facts!

The more we learn about our global neighbors, the less likely we are to have prejudices based on a lack of understanding, and learning fun things like how others celebrate holidays is a great way to start.  With 196 countries around the world, it is impossible for me to cover them all in a single post, but I hope this has whet your appetite to learn more. There are some great websites … This is one of the best I found.  So for now, I hope you have a fun Easter tomorrow and spend the day with people you love.

Easter bunny

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35 thoughts on “Easter Traditions Here and There – Slightly Updated”

  1. Okay, it’s Easter Monday and I will have to go back and read all of your post, I did see the part about keeping the egg until next Easter. There was an Easter when I was growing up that it rained, so we had to hide the eggs inside. My older brother was in charge of hiding them and the rest of us did the searching. We found all but one of the eggs, and he couldn’t remember where he had hidden it and eventually we all forgot about it. And then one Sunday morning Mom was putting on her summer shoes and stuck her foot in the missing egg. Talk about an odor! It didn’t smell until she stuck her foot in but then the entire house reeked! That was our last Easter egg hunt, in or out of doors.

    Liked by 2 people

    • We always hid our eggs inside anyway, for we never had a yard big enough to hide them. I well remember one year we missed one and a few weeks later we couldn’t figure out what that horrible stench was!

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  3. Had no idea what Peeps were. They don’t exist here.

    Of course in Aotearoa, Easter is an autumn festival, not a spring one.. Oddly the Easter Bunny still brings chocolate Easter eggs – either hollow chocolate ones or egg shaped marshmallows (white with a yellow centre) lightly coated in chocolate. Then there’s hot cross buns which the supermarkets start selling at the end of January.

    I believe NZ was the first nation to introduce a long Easter weekend. Here, Easter Friday and Easter Monday are two of our eleven statutory holidays which means that employees must be given the day off work at full pay. If they must work on a statutory holiday they must be paid at double normal rates and be given another mutually agreeable day off in lieu also at full pay. Easter Monday been paid a holiday for government and bank employees since 1873 and a paid holiday for all workers since 1894 (making it a 140 year old tradition). In some ways the Easter weekend functions perhaps a little like your Thanksgiving but spread over four days.

    Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and New Years Day and the day after are also statutory holidays that are “Monday-ised” if they fall on a weekend, so often also result in 4-day weekends.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Don’t worry … you’re not really missing anything with the Peeps! They’re cute, but kind of yuck when you actually eat them! 

      When I worked for a publishing company, we always had Good Friday, the Friday before Easter off, but never the Monday after. Nowadays, very few companies here give either one off as a holiday. In many, many ways you guys are much more of a humanitarian nation than we are. Here, the almighty dollar reigns and the corporations who are raking in those dollars. 

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Thailand is predominately Buddhist so Easter is not celebrated here although for many years this is the first time I have had a craving for a chocolate egg😊I do love reading how other countries celebrate Easter though and I like Clive had no idea what a “Peeps” was Happy Easter Monday, Jill xoxo

    Liked by 2 people

    • I didn’t realize you lived in Thailand … for some reason I thought you were in the UK! And now I have a friend in Thailand! I was just telling Sadje, who lives in Pakistan, how the best thing about my blog is the new friends I’ve made from all over the world. I wish I could share some of my chocolate eggs with you, for my girls (daughter Chris and granddaughter Natasha) got me way too many … and I’m diabetic! You’re not missing much by not having Peeps over there! Just a marshmallow formed to look like a bunny or chicken, basically! They leave you wanting to immediately brush your teeth after eating one! Happy day after Easter, Carol! xx

      Liked by 1 person

      • Likewise ​about having friends from around the​ world, Jill blogging opens so many doors.​I thought you lived in the US… I am sorry to hear about your diabetes… Yes Easter eggs I have tried getting them sent and the​ chocolate​ doesn’t travel well🥴 but hey ho you can’t have it all… I have wall to wall sunshine and fabulous tropical storms​ what more could I really want 😀🤗

        Liked by 3 people

        • Yes, I live in the U.S. I was raised a ‘bi-coastal’ kid, part of my childhood in New York and part in San Francisco and points in between, but I now live in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. No worries about the diabetes, I have had it since my early childhood, so it’s just a part of life now. I do sneak the occasional chocolate egg, though 😉 I would love your wall-to-wall sunshine, but not so much the tropical storms! 🤗

          Liked by 1 person

  5. Dear Jill,

    Thank you very much for your messages for Easter.

    I have been occupied with other aspects of my life, and so have not been very active at all in the blogosphere. You have correctly sensed my extended absence. I am partially back, and intend to publish a new post in a day or two, should nothing intervene.

    In the spirit of Easter, I would like to wish you and your family “Joyeuses Pâques!”, and to share with you my special Easter post entitled “Easter in Modern Multimedia Perspective“. You are very welcome to enjoy some eye-catching graphics and animations plus more pertinent information there. The post can be accessed directly at

    🐥 Easter in Modern Multimedia Perspective 🐰🐣🐇🐤

    Hopefully, you will find this extensive, multifaceted and fun-filled post of mine as highly enjoyable as it is particularly informative about Easter, whether intellectually, artistically or spiritually.

    May you have a happy and productive week!

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

    Liked by 1 person

    • So good to see you again!!! Yes, I’ve been wondering why I hadn’t seen you out here in the blogosphere for quite some time. I do hope that the ‘aspects of life’ that have kept you away aren’t traumatic or sad. Know that you have definitely been missed! 

      Thank you for the fun Easter post! I enjoyed the art, ‘toons, and pics of yummy food that made my tummy grumble! Happy Easter, my friend! Looking forward to your post in a day or two!

      Liked by 2 people

      • Dear Jill,

        You are very welcome. Thank you for your feedback. I would be very delighted if you could kindly leave your comment in my said post as a token of your visit. You could simply copy and paste your previous reply to my earlier comment as part of your forthcoming comment to be submitted to the comment section of the post, to which your said reply clearly pertains and also belongs. Please feel free to expand on your comment if you have additional matters to convey about the expansive post and any salient aspects of its contents. Thank you in anticipation.

        Happy April to you!

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

  6. This is nice. I also do not care to eat Peeps at all-the very thought makes my healthy teeth tingle. uugghh. Anyway, though, they’re really cute, so I don’t hate them. I love the website-thank you for that link, I’ve bookmarked it! 🐰🐣

    Liked by 2 people

    • I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, even if you didn’t like the Peeps all that much! I don’t care for them either, but my daughter loves them, so she always gets them in her Easter basket! I hope you had a happy Easter, dear Ali!

      Liked by 1 person

    • WHAT??? You guys don’t have Peeps over there? They are just like in that picture, basically duck or bunny-shaped marshmallows coloured and coated in a sugary coating. Used to always be yellow and plain ol’ marshmallow flavoured, but today you can get them in nearly every colour of the rainbow and flavours range from strawberry to hot tamale!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Happy Easter Sunday, Jill. We did our egg hunt today and I’m slightly irritated at how much sweets the hubby bought for T, including those yucky Peeps. 😝

    Interesting to learn about other customs around the world, including Czech Republic. The hubby did some egg colouring art many years ago and was quite into it. They are and can be quite beautiful if done right!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Happy Easter to you and your family, too, Ab! Ours was nice … peaceful, too much chocolate, but … I’ll just have to take more insulin! I don’t care for Peeps, either, though I think they are cute! Daughter Chris loves ’em, so naturally she got some in her basket!

      Yes, I always enjoy learning the customs of other countries and nationalities! I used to take time to paint the eggs, make them special, but these days I have to conserve what little energy I have, so I boil ’em and colour ’em and hide ’em and that’s enough! You’ll just have to help T eat all those sweets the hubby bought for him!!! 😋

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Like the winter holiday Saturnalia was co-opted by the Christians for Christmas, Easter was also co-opted by the Christians. Eostre was the Germanic pagan goddess of the dawn and spring. Her symbolic creature is the hare. The whole thing is about the end of winter and rebirth.

    Liked by 3 people

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