5 Craziest Easter Traditions From Around the World
Easter is way more than a day off from work to have fun binge-watching movies or playing video games. This ancient religious holiday is a memorable one for most people as it tells a story of sacrifice, hope, and new beginnings. Although the reason for the Easter holiday is the same across countries, the mode of celebration and customs vary across nations. In the spirit of this year’s celebrations, we’ll be sharing some of the craziest Easter traditions from around the world.
Wild Easter Traditions and the countries that practice them
- Murder Mystery Reading in Norway
While most Nigerians take to cooking rice and having a swell time with family and friends, the Norwegians celebrate Easter in a much different way. Most people in this Scandinavian nation celebrate the holiday by practicing “Paskekrim”. This Norwegian Easter tradition involves watching and reading crime stories and detective thrillers. The entire country is usually very involved in the suspense as nearly every radio and TV station produces murder mysteries for Easter. The milk company also contributes its fair share by printing crime stories on cartons for buyers to read.
2. Water Fighting in Poland
For the Polish, few things signify Easter better than a friendly water fight. Every time the Easter holiday comes around, people make time to celebrate a water fighting tradition called “Smigus Dyngus”. In the olden days, this practice was strictly between single guys and single girls, as a way to show their affection. However, it has since evolved into a water competition for everyone. In fact, modern games feature people with water guns, and empty shampoo bottles as weapons, with the goal of getting their opponents drenched.
3. Clay Pot Throwing in Corfu
As if throwing water was not enough, some people take it a step further by throwing clay pots during Easter. In the Greek Island of Corfu, people celebrate the holiday by throwing clay pots out their balconies. This tradition dates back to the 16th century, when people threw away all their old belongings to celebrate the end of a year. At the time, it was believed that breaking pots scared away evil spirits, but these days everyone mostly does it for fun.
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4. Giant Easter Omelet in France
We know that most countries celebrate Easter by throwing and cracking eggs, but the French take it to an entirely new level. Every Easter Monday, the residents of Haux crack more than 4,500 eggs into a gigantic pan to make a huge omelet. It starts with each family breaking their eggs in their homes in the morning, and then they gather in the main square, where the eggs are made into meals for lunch and dinner. Most times, this giant omelet is big enough to serve over 1,000 people.
5. Women whipping in Czech
Although all the above Easter traditions are crazy, nothing comes close to being whipped in celebration of the holiday. If you’re a woman in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, you’re best advised to remain indoors on Easter Monday. This is because the local men in these two countries celebrate Easter by whipping girls, albeit lightly. Whips are created from willow switches and ribbons and girls are whipped to encourage “good health and beauty”.
What do you think about these Easter traditions, are they over the edge or would you love to indulge in some?
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