Easter Around the World: From Flying Bells to Giant Omelettes
While chocolate bunnies and Sunday service might be familiar Easter staples, Christians worldwide celebrate the holiday with traditions that range from charming to downright bizarre. In some corners of the globe, you’ll find everything from water fights to clay pot smashing marking the resurrection of Christ.
Easter, Christianity’s most important holy day, commemorates Jesus’s resurrection following his crucifixion. The celebration comes after the 40-day period of Lent, during which many Christians give up certain foods or habits as a form of spiritual preparation. But beyond these commonalities, Easter traditions can vary dramatically from country to country.
In Ukraine, Easter is a weeks-long affair that begins well before the actual holiday. Ukrainian families create intricately decorated eggs known as pysanky and krashanky, with designs that have been passed down through generations. During the Easter Vigil, priests bless parishioners’ Easter baskets filled with eggs, paska (traditional bread), butter, cheese, and kovbasa (sausage), as documented in historical records.
“For the most part, celebrations for Easter across the Christian world feature plenty of commonalities: giving up something for lent, the Easter bunny bringing chocolate eggs, eating fish on Good Friday and going to Easter Sunday service,” notes travel publication Wanderlust magazine.
But who delivers those chocolate eggs? That depends entirely on where you live.
In Switzerland, children don’t wait for a bunny — it’s actually a cuckoo that delivers sweet treats. Meanwhile, French children are told that flying bells, not rabbits, drop chocolate eggs from overhead on Easter Sunday. These bells, according to tradition, fly to Rome on Good Friday and return on Easter, showering communities with chocolates along the way, as explained by cultural observers.
Speaking of France, one small village takes egg consumption to extraordinary heights. Every Easter Monday in Bessières, residents crack approximately 15,000 eggs to create a massive communal omelette in the town square. The tradition reportedly began when Napoleon Bonaparte requested a giant omelette to feed his hungry troops while passing through the region — a practice that has evolved into a charitable event feeding the village’s needy at Easter.
“For many of us, Easter traditions include sunrise services, joyful worship and reading the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Bible,” notes Wycliffe Bible Translators in a post about global Easter celebrations.
Other notable Easter traditions around the world include kite flying, which symbolizes Christ’s ascension in some cultures, murder mystery readings (particularly popular in Norway), and the hiding of Easter nests rather than baskets in some European countries. More boisterous celebrations feature water fights in Hungary and Poland, competitive egg rolling contests in the UK, and the Greek tradition of smashing clay pots from windows and balconies on Easter Saturday, as language education organization EF highlights.
In Australia and New Zealand, where autumn is beginning as Easter arrives, traditions have adapted accordingly. Hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, and large agricultural shows mark the season, creating a unique blend of religious observance and seasonal celebration.
Whether it’s blessing food baskets, hunting for eggs, or creating a 15,000-egg omelette, these diverse Easter traditions serve the same purpose — bringing communities together to celebrate renewal and hope as winter gives way to spring in much of the Christian world.