Easter is one of the few days of the year where traditionally we spend time with family and good friends. It should also be a time for reflection, for being thankful for what we have and who we have around us. Easter, traditionally seen as the beginning of spring, new beginnings,new life.
For some of us here in the UK, we are looking forward to chocolate eggs and bunnies and hot cross buns, but there are other wacky traditions happening all over the world for instance, in the
Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, where there is a tradition of spanking or whipping women on Easter Monday. Males throw water at females and spank them with handmade whips made of willow and decorated with ribbons at the end. The spanking is supposed to be symbolic and according to legend, females should be spanked in order to keep their health and beauty during the next year. It doesn’t sound too fun for the women!
On
Maundy Thursday in Verges, in Spain, a traditional “death dance” is performed which involves a parade down the streets of the medieval town. Everyone involved is dressed in costumes and the procession ends with frightening skeletons carrying boxes of ashes. The scary dance begins at midnight and continues for three hours into the early morning.
If the man of the house in Poland takes part in preparing the traditional Easter bread, custom has it that his moustache will turn grey and the dough will fail. So the lucky man of the house is banned from helping out.
In Latvia, the
traditional Easter game played by the children is similar to conkers – but with eggs. Players pair off and use hard-boiled coloured eggs joined together with string. Competitors bang the ends of the eggs together until one player’s egg breaks. The winner is the player with the stronger egg. It sounds a bit messy to us.
The way in which we each celebrate Easter is diverse and different and although there are common grounds, there are also huge differences. There are no wrong or right ways to celebrate the Easter period, so hoping your all enjoy your time out with your family however you maybe celebrating.
Colette Morris F.R.S.A
Internet Marketing Strategist & Business Coach
http://www.BuildYourBusinessOnline.info</
