Published: Mar 28, 2024

Easter in Europe 2024 - how to celebrate?

One of the favorite and most important religious holidays reflecting the resurrection of Jesus Christ is Easter. It most often represents the time of the beginning of the weekends in Europe. The Easter traditions differ around the world and represent some very diverse cultural features. Let us see how Easter is celebrated in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Romania, and Denmark

Easter Traditions in Germany

Easter in Germany begins from Maundy Thursday and lasts until Easter Monday. A special place called Easter fairs is held for the celebration, where you can buy a variety of souvenirs, Easter decorations and delicacies.It is also traditional to dye eggs and search for the Easter bunny, which, according to legend, brings gifts to children. The most popular dishes for the holiday are: lamaines, pastries in the shape of hares and eggs, Easter bread and, of course, a variety of chocolate sweets, including Easter bunnies.

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Easter Traditions in Poland

Poland is known for its rich Easter traditions. Some of them include the blessing of food baskets during Holy Saturday. These baskets are meant to carry some of the symbolic food like cake, Easter eggs, salt, horseradish, and sausage. Another of the distinct traditions is the "Śmigus-Dyngus," or Maundy Monday when people pour water upon each other to symbolize a kind of spring cleansing.

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Easter holidays in the Netherlands

Easter is extensively celebrated in the Netherlands, mostly in the open air, since the warmness of spring prevails. Among the traditional dishes, which symbolize Easter, there is llama, usually served for lunch, or an Easter omelet. The burning of Easter bonfires is another common Easter tradition that is done to unite and create a sense of community.

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Easter Traditions in Romania

Romania has some of the most captivating Easter traditions: one of them would be the tradition of dying eggs in bright colours with wax and great ornaments preserved. The Easter service, held at midnight, is the spiritual peak of the celebrations, after which people go home to share the blessed food with their families. In Romania, Easter is served with Easter cake, eggs dyed in bright colours, sausage, lamb meat, and a special Easter cake called cozonac.

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Easter Traditions in Denmark

In Denmark, Easter usually comes during spring and traditionally includes dinner with the family and the friends, serving large selections of seafood, eggs, and, of course, Easter beer. The Danes also have the tradition of sending "gækkebreve," which is an anonymous letter containing a poem with wishes inside and sent before Easter. Danes enjoy a variety of seafood, including herring, eggs, Easter beer, and special Easter pastries.

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Easter Traditions in Ukraine

Ukraine has deep roots with Easter traditions: the colouring of eggs called pysanky, using naturally occurring wax and dyes. Easter baskets filled with consecrated food, including Easter cake, sausage, butter, cheese, eggs, and horseradish, are blessed in church on Holy Saturday. The Ukrainian Easter table proudly displays paska (Easter bread), pysanky (Easter eggs) as a symbol of new life, sausage, bacon, cheese paska (Easter cheese dessert), horseradish with beets, and other traditional dishes.

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The celebration of Easter in each country reflects the deep cultural diversity of Europe with traditions that are passed down from generations. These traditions hold historical heritage, but at the same time, bring people together to remind them of the importance of community, faith, and renovation.