Easter Around the World

Easter is only a few days away, and Americans are stocking up on plastic eggs, chocolate bunnies, and assorted colors of egg dye. While these Easter traditions are commonly observed from sea to shining sea, other countries have developed their own distinct ways of celebrating the holiday. Grab your passport and join The StickerTalk as we take a look at Easter around the world!

On the Greek island of Corfu, people celebrate Easter weekend by tossing gigantic clay vases called botides from tall buildings. The thunderous noise created by botides crashing onto the concrete below is representative of the earthquake that occurred after the resurrection of Jesus. Additionally, the action of breaking pottery is a Biblically symbolic of God destroying His enemies. Greek superstition claims that the racket of this ritual frightens off evil spirits and that good luck is contained in the broken shards of pottery littering the streets after all of the botides have been smashed.

In Bermuda, Good Friday is typically spent flying kites with friends and family. This Easter tradition began when a Sunday School teacher used a kite to illustrate how Jesus ascended into Heaven. Bermudians continue this annual custom by constructing intricately designed kites, many complete with a “hummer” that makes a pleasant buzzing sound as it soars across the sky. Following a full day of kite flying, islanders retire to their homes for a meal of codfish cakes and hot cross buns.

While Americans customarily celebrate the Easter season by consuming copious quantities of chocolate bunnies, Australians have elected to enshrine another mammal in delicious images: the bilby. Bilbies once freely roamed Australia, but this miniature marsupial has been pushed to the brink of extinction. The bilby’s population decline is partially caused by the introduction of invasive species, the most notorious of which are (you guessed it) rabbits. One charity, Rabbit-Free Australia, decided to take action on the bilby’s behalf by selling chocolate bilbies for Easter, taking a symbolic swat at Australia’s belligerent bunnies while raising money and awareness to help save the bilby.

Residents of Florence, Italy, celebrate Easter with a bang, literally! In a ritual called “the Explosion of the Cart,” a team of white oxen bedecked in floral garlands pull a twenty-foot-tall cart laden with fireworks to front the city cathedral, accompanied by a parade of musicians, flag-throwers, and other performers. Near the conclusion of Easter mass, a mechanical dove flies along a wire stretching from the altar to the cart. The explosion is set off when the dove strikes the top of the cart, resulting in a fantastic pyrotechnic display that has occurred each year for over three centuries.

Sources:

• 10 Fascinating Easter Traditions From Around the World | Reader’s Digest
• Old Easter tradition on the Greek island of Corfu is a smash | Reuters
• Bermudian Traditions for Easter Weekend // Go To Bermuda
• Easter Bilby Chocolates
• Scoppio del Carro (florencewebguide.com)