5 Easter Traditions from Around the World

By Mike Cooper

As we celebrate Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter, we want to share 5 Easter traditions from around the world. Some of these are similar to things we do here in the U.S.; others are very unusual!

When the kids were little in the Cooper household, we would hide the little plastic eggs filled with candy, goldfish, other treats and coins. The kids would start at the top of the stairs and Mike would video them as they ran down the steps to the room with the eggs. It was very fun watching their search tactics change as they grew older. However, we would only let them have a couple pieces of candy before Mass. There was no room for kids with too much sugar during the celebration of the Risen Lord!

What traditions do you have in your family or culture?

Here are 5 Easter Traditions from Around the World:

1. SWEDEN: Easter is a very secular holiday in Sweden, celebrated with meals of eggs, herring, and something called ‘Jansson’s Temptation,’ which is made up of potato, onion and pickled sardines baked in a cream sauce.In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, children dress up as Easter witches while wearing old or used clothes. They go home to home in their neighborhoods, trading paintings or drawings for candy and treats – kind of like our Halloween, but there’s a trade for the candy!
2. HAITI: In Haiti, Holy Week is celebrated with beautiful parades and traditional music played on bamboo trumpets, maracas, drums…even coffee cans if that is all they can find. The holiday is a little mixture of both Catholic and Voodoo traditions!
3. ETHIOPIA: In Ethiopia, the first Easter service usually starts at 8 pm on Easter Saturday (similar to our Easter Vigil), but it lasts until 3 am Easter morning! Those who go to this service stay for the whole Mass and wear their Easter finest. After the service, people go home and have breakfast to celebrate with sourdough bread, which is traditionally cut by a priest or the head man of the family.
4. SPAIN: There are many processions through the streets of towns in Spain at night to celebrate Easter. The ‘floats’ have decorated figures, covered in gold, silver or beautiful cloth, telling the Easter story. These floats are carried by 40 or 50 people through the procession, which can last 4 – 5 hours.
5. UNITED KINGDOM: On a Sunday in the middle of Lent, the U.K. has a day called ‘Mothering Sunday,’ similar to our Mother’s Day. There are special church services and flowers are given to mothers to thank them for all they do.

Easter Celebration at NSC

This year we celebrated Easter early with our Members and the children from Bright Horizons for a fun multigenerational, multidenominational Easter activity. Everyone had a great time! Our Members also made spring wreaths this week, a symbol of renewal and rebirth. 

When we are not celebrating, we encourage our Members to socialize, exercise, play games and puzzles, sing, clap, dance, spend time on the computer, and a host of other activities to provide mental and physical stimulation.

Call to action: to learn more about how NSC can provide a respite for you and a great social environment for your loved one, contact us at 630.857.3017. You can also schedule a tour to see what we have to offer and understand the Naperville Senior Center experience, “Home Away From Home.”