Are you ready for Easter this weekend? If you lived in Germany, your Easter wouldn’t be complete unless you still had your Christmas tree. Read on to find out more.
In Germany, it is tradition to burn the Christmas tree come Easter. If you get in touch with your German roots this Easter and decide to burn your very dry Christmas tree, at least make sure you have Wisconsin fire insurance!
Easter usually falls very close to Walpurgis Night, a holiday celebrated in Sweden which is similar to Halloween. On April 30, children celebrate Walpurgis night by trick or treating and lighting bonfires to ward off evil spirits.
Vrontados, a village in the Greek island of Chios, celebrates Easter by having a Rocket War. There are several stories as to the origins of this tradition, which consists of members from two Orthodox churches firing homemade rockets at each other. Talk about an Easter party!
The Easter Bunny is not too popular in Australia, probably due to the fact that the introduction of the rabbit to Australia destroyed land and crops. The Bilby, a native marsupial, is held up for Easter in Australia.
A less fire-filled tradition in Germany is the Easter tree, a decoration consisting of over 9,000 eggs being hung from a tree in Saalfeld. The end result is absolutely beautiful!
If you are bored with your usual Easter traditions, or if you are just looking for something new and fun to do, try out one of these international traditions. However, it probably wouldn’t be too wise to start a rocket war or light your Christmas tree on fire without a reliable insurance policy.
-Sam