Like many occasions throughout the year, Easter comes with a range of its own traditions. And depending on your beliefs, or those of your family, it is never too late to introduce some new Easter traditions of your own! Need some inspiration? Here are some popular world-wide traditions that might help spark the magic of Easter.
Although the Easter holiday season is typically more commercialized nowadays, its origin heralded from Christian belief of the resurrection of Jesus. And today, not everyone who celebrates Easter has religious beliefs. In fact, Easter has also become another valuable time of the year for gathering family and friends to celebrate good company and companionship. This time of the year however, does make it clearer to understand why this traditionally holy celebration plays an important role in the lives of many people around the world.
If you or your family network are sticklers for the same thing year after year, it could be time to introduce a new Easter tradition to celebrations this year. Yes sure – no doubt there will still be plenty of chocolate and Easter bunny frivolity. But we have some new Easter traditions from around the globe that may just become a family favourite in your home as well.
To help spark creativity and offer a range of choice, here are three popular and interesting Easter traditions to boost the excitement and magic of Easter.
#1 A Colourful Easter Display – Up, Up and Away
On the British island of Bermuda, Easter is a weekend-long affair kicking off with a Good Friday KiteFest. Participants to the sky-heigh celebration travel to various parts of the island to fly their brightly-coloured homemade kites, or just gather to view the spectacle and hear the “hum” as the kites soar through the sky.
It is believed that a local Sunday school teacher used a kite (that represented Jesus) to explain his story to students about the rise of Christ. This in turn sparked the island’s new Easter tradition of flying kites on Good Friday.
Kites are a favourite at many festivals across the globe and with people of many ages. Why not create your own new Easter tradition and challenge your family and friends to a kite competition? Don’t forget to add plenty of ribbons and bows for a brightly-coloured affair up, up and away!
#2 The Chocolate Easter Bilby
Most people in Australia and around the world are familiar with the traditional Easter bunny chocolate. But how many people actually know the story behind the introduction of the bilby as a new Easter tradition back in 1991?
Rabbits here in Australia are widely considered as pests for their sheer destruction of crops, natural landscape and overrunning habitats of Australian native animals, such as the bilby. In 1991, Rabbit-Free Australia (who supports research for the eradication of feral rabbits) launched a campaign to replace chocolate bunnies with chocolate bilbies instead. Proceeds of the chocolate bilbies were directed to the fund.
The Easter bilbies are still made to this day, with a portion of funds donated to help save the Australian native bilby. You can help to champion this cause as a new Easter tradition by ensuring your family and friends receive an Easter bilby as part of their Easter gifts this year too.
* Interesting Easter tradition fact: in New Zealand, hundreds of people would gather in the town of Alexandra to hunt rabbits as part of their Great Easter Bunny Hunt tradition. Not only considered pests in Australia, rabbits also have a negative impact on the biodiversity in New Zealand.
#3 A New Easter Tradition for the Wet and Wild!
We found a few customs when it comes to celebrating Easter with water, which could be good bases for new Easter traditions of our own.
Easter in the Greek Islands
On the morning of Holy Sunday, on the Greek island of Corfu, people throw water out of their windows in pots, pans and earthenware. Some say it is to symbolise the coming of Spring and the new crops that will be gathered in the pots. Some say it is just a great excuse for clearing out their unwanted kitchenware…
Easter in Poland
The Polish enjoy a water-based Easter tradition of pouring water on one another on ‘Wet (Easter) Monday’. The aim is to soak people as much as possible with buckets of water, water guns, or anything else they deem effective. The reasoning? Legend says the girls who get soaked with water will be married within the year.
Easter in Hungary
Meanwhile in Hungary, a popular Easter tradition is celebrated on Easter Monday. On ‘Sprinkling’ or ‘Ducking Monday’, boys playfully sprinkle perfume or fragranced water on girls who have their permission. The boys are then awarded with a kiss. It was once believed that water possessed a cleaning, healing and fertility-inducing effect and this was the purpose behind these water games.
Although it might not be in our nature to drench girls or boys for the hope of marriage or babies, we think these cultures embellish a pretty fun new Easter tradition that could easily be adapted in Australia. I mean, who does not love a good water fight with siblings, friends and other willing participants! Our Easter hunt buckets are ideal water carriers, can be personalised, and double-up for your Easter egg hunt too.
Perhaps the Easter traditions you were brought up with include spending every Sunday in the lead up to Easter at your local church, eating loooots of chocolate (or cheekily finding your parents stash and eating a few), or visiting family you haven’t seen in a while. But if your family has heard the same stories about Easter traditions from your younger days, it might be a great time to incorporate new Easter traditions. Influenced by cultures from around the globe, there are plenty of traditions that can be transformed into new Easter traditions to be adapted into your homes. The fun of it is finding a few that suit your family’s demographic – then go!
For inspiration and a basket full of new Easter traditions, and those more typically popular like an Easter egg hunt or Easter hat parade, see our Easter tradition articles on our online blog.