EASTER AROUND THE WORLD

INTRODUCTION

• Easter is one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, celebrated throughout the world. There are a few things, such as the Easter eggs, bunnies and chocolates that are common to Easter celebrations all over the world. But there are some traditions during the Easter festival in different parts of the world.

GERMANY

• On the day of the festival, people greet each other. Easter holidays for children last for about three weeks. Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday are the days when people do not work at all. Green dishes are prepared on Maundy Thursday, one of them being the "seven herb soup" that contains spinach, parsley, leeks, chives, dandelion and sorrel. Good Friday dinner mainly consists of fish that is consumed among the family. Lamb forms the main dish on Easter as it represents innocence.

MEXICO

BRAZIL

GREECE

• In Greece, Easter celebrations start on Good Friday itself, with the icon of Christ being moved out off the cross. It is wrapped in linen and placed in a great casket to symbolize the tomb of Christ. It is then decorated with thousands of flowers and taken through the streets, followed by a slow procession. Another tradition followed by the Greeks involves lighting a candle at the cemetery, to honor the dead.

SPAIN

• 'La Patum' is a traditional Easter ritual, with a procession of giants, devils and monsters thronging the streets to celebrate 'Corpus Christi'. Another ritual observed in Spain is the burning of raw and straw figurine of famous people, placed at different locations in the village/city. These dolls, called Judas dolls, are either torn apart and thrown away or set on fire.