This year Good Friday is on 10 April this year and Easter Monday is on 13 April. With the nationwide social distancing order in place, Easter is going to be different this year. In our house there will be no family gathering or typical Easter egg hunt with the grandkids like years before. How sad.
How Easter is celebrated in other countries
- North America
Easter in North American is celebrated in much the same way as it is in other Western countries. Good Friday, Easter Sunday as well as Easter Monday are public holidays in most provinces in Canada and in a lot of states in the USA.
Most everything is closed Easter Sunday; it’s a popular day for attending church, getting together for a big family meal which often includes turkey or ham, green beans, potatoes, yams, and pie.
Children get baskets full of candy and families engage in Easter egg activities, such as Easter egg hunts.
- France
French children don’t get presents and chocolate from the Easter bunny; they get them from the Easter bells.
- Greece
Easter is known around the world for multi-coloured, decorated eggs. But in Greece you will find only red eggs. Red is the colour of life as well as a representation of the blood of Christ.
- Australia
Some Australian kids are visited by the Easter Bunny, but in Australia rabbits are considered pests because they destroy the land. Australia associate Easter with a different animal, the Easter Bilby. Bilbies have big, soft ears like rabbits and long noses like mice.
- Germany
In Germany, trees are decorated with colourful Easter eggs, these trees are called Ostereierbaum or Easter egg trees. This is also a custom in Austria, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
On the night before Easter Sunday, many Germans gather around huge bonfires, sometimes built with the wood of old Christmas trees. The fire marks the end of winter and the coming of spring.
- Sweden
In Sweden, the children dress up as Easter witches wearing long skirts, colourful headscarves and painted red cheeks. They go from home to home in their neighborhoods trading paintings and drawings for sweets.