Easter travel is not all about bunnies and chocolate!
With the ‘Easter getaway’ weekend fast approaching, millions of Britons are planning to leave the UK to enjoy their holidays abroad, so specialist travel insurer Columbus Direct reveals 10 different Easter traditions that travellers may encounter on their break. Some interesting alternatives that I didn’t know about! I like the German idea – maybe that would be a better way of dealing with all our wasted dead Christmas trees:-
Sweden
Swedish children dress up as ‘Easter witches’ using old clothes in the run-up to Easter Sunday. They visit the houses in their neighbourhoods trading paintings and drawings for sweets. Swedes like to eat eggs, herring and Jansson’s Temptation (potato, onion and pickled sardines baked in cream) over the Easter period.
Norway
You may find lots of Norwegians with their head in a good crime novel as they have named the season ‘Easter-crime’, with many around the country reading mystery books or watching their crime detective TV series, now referred to as ‘Nordic Noir’.
Germany
Germans will pile up their old Christmas trees and burn them on Easter Sunday and Monday, signifying the end of winter and the start of spring. It is a festive night with adults enjoying alcohol and food as they watch the fires chase away the remainder of winter.
Poland
On Easter Monday, Polish boys try to drench people with buckets of water and water pistols. It is apparently said that if a girl gets soaked with water that day, she will marry that year!
Corfu
On the morning of Easter Saturday, the islanders throw pots, pans and other earthenware out of their windows to smash on to the street. Many believe it symbolises the start of spring and wakens the crops that will grow in the new pots.
Spain
The medieval town of Verges performs the ‘death dance’. Spaniards dress in skeleton costumes and parade the streets, with the fiesta beginning at midnight and going on until 3am.
Bermuda
Bermudians fly home-made kites, eat codfish cakes and hot cross buns on Good Friday. The kites are made of coloured tissue paper, wood, metal and string and are thought to symbolise the Ascension.
Slovakia
Similar to the Polish, Slovakian’s also splash women with water but they are then gently tapped with a special willow cane which is hand-woven and decorated with colourful ribbons. It is supposed to evoke youth, strength and beauty for the spring season.
Mexico
In Mexico it is traditional to burn an effigy of Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. It is usually burned on the Friday or Saturday before Easter and can sometimes be filled with fireworks for added effect. This can also be seen in, Greece, Venezuela, Crete, Portugal, and Spain.
Colombia
Chocolate eggs are not on the menu if you visit this part of South America over Easter. Colombians like to feast on iguanas, turtles and large rodents over the festive period, presumably because they’ve had enough cocoa through the rest of the year!
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