Easter - Ostern

Easter is a Christian festival that is associated with very different traditions in different countries. Getting to know foreign Easter traditions can be a reason to plan a trip.

calendar

Easter is a moving festival in the calendar. In the western church it always falls on the Sunday after the first full moon in spring, i.e. on March 22nd at the earliest and on April 25th at the latest. The dates of the Easter Festival are also based on this.

The Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, with which the Holy Week begins.

Maundy Thursday is / was this year on April 1, 2021. In the Eastern Church is / was Maundy Thursday on April 29, 2021.

Good Friday is / was this year on April 2, 2021. In the Eastern Church is / was Good Friday on April 30, 2021.

Easter Monday is / was this year on April 5, 2021. In the Eastern Church is / was Easter Monday on May 3, 2021.

In the Orthodox Church will the Julian calendar used. This causes the public holidays to be postponed by 13 days. Many Eastern Churches do not use the calculation Gregorian calendar so that the Easter date can deviate by up to five weeks.

Legal holidays

Germany - Good Friday and Easter Monday

Switzerland - Easter Sunday, in large parts also Good Friday and Easter Monday

Austria - Good Friday and Easter Monday

France - Vendredi Saint, Good Friday, only in the Alsace region, in parts of the Lorraine region and in Martinique and Guadeloupe, Lundi de Pâques, Easter Monday is a national holiday

Italy - Pasquetta, Easter Monday

Spain - Jueves Santo, Maundy Thursday, Viernes Santo, Good Friday, Domingo de Pascua, Easter Sunday

religion

in the Christianity From the theological point of view, Easter is the most important Christian festival. It is the annual commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death.

Good Friday was the day of death with the crucifixion of Christ.

Holy Saturday corresponds to the rest of the grave. In the Easter vigil there are church services with the light celebration and there are Easter bonfires.

The resurrection followed on Easter Sunday, "the third day" after his death.

Easter Monday goes back to two disciples of Jesus going on the Emm.

Passion play

Christian performances about the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth are called passion plays. Probably the most famous Passion Play has been taking place in Oberammergau without interruption since the 17th century.

Germany

• Oberammergau since 1634, the next Passion Play is expected to be staged in 2022.
• Bramsche / Malgarten Monastery since 1974
• Chorin since 1995
• Waal in the Allgäu
• Bensheim since 1983
• Saarlouis
• Perlesreut
• Vineyards
• Salmünster since 1983
• Scheinfeld
• fault
• Sommersdorf since 1933
• Tirschenreuth
• Wintrich
• The Kemnather Passion is performed every 5 years during Holy Week, the next time in 2018.
• Bubach-Calmesweiler
• Dammbach
• The Neumarkt Passion Play in Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate have been held since the 17th century. The presentation of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ takes place every 10 years, the next time in 2019.
• Wuppertal
• Hallenberg in the Sauerland
• Auersmacher (Saarland)
• Weilheim in Upper Bavaria
• Zschorlau

Austria

• The games in Erl take place every five to six years, the next in 2019.
• Grin
• Kirchschlag in the Bucklige Welt
• Kloesterle
• Thiersee
• Mettmach
• Feldkirchen near Graz
• Dorfstetten
• Roman quarry St. Margarethen
• Tresdorf in Mölltal
• Kilb
• Sankt Georgen ob Murau
• Eibesthal
• Kainbach near Graz
• Styrian Laßnitz
• Krastal
• Arnoldstein

Italy

• Bolzano
• Sterzing

Poland

• Wejherowo

Slovenia

• Škofja Loka

Czech Republic

• Hořice na Šumavě

France

• Masmünster in Alsace

Easter tradition

In the course of history, many Easter customs have developed around the world; pre-Christian customs relating to spring and fertility also play a role.

Europe

Vatican

The Pope speaks the blessing Urbi et orbi on Easter Sunday from the loggia above the portals of St. Peter's Basilica in more than 60 languages ​​to thousands of believers in St. Peter's Square.

Germany

• Easter eggs are colored eggs, often painted with motifs, which are traditionally given away and eaten at Easter. Often children are told that the eggs are dated Easter bunny be hidden. In the community Sonnenbühl on the Swabian Alb there is a in the Erpfingen district Easter egg museum. The Easter bunny is an ancient symbol of fertility. Before Easter it is offered in any shape and material, mostly as a candy.

• From the Franconian Switzerland comes the custom, Easter fountain Decorate them with painted Easter eggs from Good Friday until two weeks after Easter. The custom arose from the water scarcity in the area, which gave the water supply a high priority. In the meantime, the fountains are also being decorated in other areas.
  • The Easter fountain in Bieberbach at Egloffstein is the largest in the world. It has been entered in the Guinness Book of Records with 11,108 hand-painted eggshells. The fountain is decorated every year from Palm Sunday until about three weeks after Easter.

• In the Adelgundis Chapel on the Staffelberg Bad Staffelstein becomes one every year during Easter until the end of May Easter crib issued. It shows the Holy Sepulcher and movable groups of figures show the suffering of Jesus, his death and the resurrection.

• On Holy Saturday from 2 p.m. there is the custom of Egg whale in Naila. The aim is to let a hard-boiled egg roll down the "Walchhang" as far as possible undamaged. There are medals and prizes for the best "race eggs". The winner gets to keep all eggs from the competition. There is also a competition class especially for holiday guests.

• At Easter time it can be lost for 100 years Holy grave daily between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in Eyershausen, a district of Bad Koenigshofen can be visited.

Switzerland

Austria

France

• In France, children are told that the Church bells Fly to Rome on Good Friday and only come back on Easter Sunday, so the bells cannot ring in between.

Italy

• On Monday after Palm Sunday there is in Castelsardo the Lunissanti. An ancient custom with Latin choir singing a 10 km long procession and evening parades.

Spain

Semana Santa is called the Holy Week in Spain from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, it is celebrated extensively in many places.

Greece

Corfu

• On Good Friday, countless people line the streets, each parish walks the boundaries of the parish with its epitaph. These parades start at noon and continue into the evening.

• The magnificent procession in honor of St. Spiridon takes place on Easter Saturday. On the Esplanada the tables in the street cafes fill up until 8 a.m., nobody wants to miss the procession.
  • After the procession it goes on in the old town, at 11 o'clock the next spectacle comes. At the "first resurrection" the jugs fall. Earthen jugs filled with water are thrown from the balconies and windows onto the street. The jugs burst loudly on the floor and the water splashes.
  • At the height of Easter, people meet in the roundabout on the upper Platia for the resurrection ceremony. Thousands take part in the fair. Shortly after midnight, the liberating thing comes Christos anesti - Christ is risen. All of a sudden the mood changes, fireworks enchant the night sky, everyone wishes for luck, shouts the Easter greeting to each other, the music becomes more cheerful and then the party continues until the early hours of the morning.

Finland

• Finns easily beat friends and acquaintances with one Birch rod. This is reminiscent of the palm fronds with which Jesus was received in Jerusalem.

• Children come along on Easter Sunday Trumpets and drums through the streets to celebrate the end of mourning.

Norway

In Norway one draws for the Easter days (påske) to the fell or the sea, definitely in the hytte, the Norwegian holiday home, which, however, covers a wide spectrum in terms of its equipment: From the simple mountain hut without electricity and running water to the luxury holiday home with a pool, everything is one hytte. From Maundy Thursday (skjærtorsdag), which is already a public holiday in Norway, via Good Friday (langfredag), Easter Saturday (påskeaften) and Easter Sunday (firste påskedag) until Easter Tuesday morning, public life is almost completely idle - restaurants and pubs in larger towns are now excluded. So if you are on holiday in Norway at this time, you should fill up your supplies in good time.

A typical custom during Easter is reading one påskekrimi, one Easter thrillers, a custom that began in 1923 with the headline "Robbery on the Bergen Railway" in several daily newspapers, which turned out to be an advertisement for a crime thriller that then became a bestseller. Since then, it has been part of Norway to take a thriller with you to the hut for the Easter holidays, and of course those who stay in the city also read.

The Norwegian greeting for Easter is: God påske, good easter!

Worldwide

United States

• With the traditional Easter parade on 5th avenue in new York Colorfully decorated cars drive through the streets and you dress up.

• In Washington at the White House there is egg rolling, The White House Easter Eggs RollInstead, each participant receives a signed wooden egg from the president and his wife.

• In New Orleans will the Gay Easter Parade held

Australia

• At Easter, engaged couples draw something flowing from a brook Water for the wedding day. When going to church, they sprinkle each other with it, it should bring luck.

Eating and drinking around Easter

A forty-day fasting period precedes Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Palm Sunday. Due to this fasting period, there are special fasting dishes in relation to Easter, but also dishes that serve to break the fast.

Germany

You should eat something green on Maundy Thursday. According to Christian tradition, meat is not allowed to eat on Good Friday, a lot of fish is eaten on this day.

Italy

• The Torta di Pasquetta a hearty pie in the shape of a cake. The dough made from water, flour, salt and oil is filled with ricotta, spinach leaves, parmesan and whisked eggs. It is traditionally served in Italy for Easter.

• Colomba pasquale (Ital. Easter pigeon), is a pastry made from yeast dough with orange peel in the shape of a dove, baked with spread wings and sprinkled with flaked almonds and powdered sugar. It is decorated in various forms for Easter and given away to friends and relatives.

Russia

Russian Orthodox believers bring red-colored eggs, kulitsch and pas'cha to the church on Easter Vigil or on Easter Sunday to have them blessed by the priest in the rite of food consecration.

• Kulitsch (Russian Кули́ч) is a round Easter bread.
• Pas'cha (Russian Пасха) is a dessert made from quark, cream, butter, sugar and eggs and spices.

Museums

• 48.349769.197151 Sonnenbühl Easter Egg Museum - In terms of content, everything revolves around the Easter egg, its meaning in Christian customs and the decorated egg in many cultures around the world.

Easter markets

• Easter market in Nuremberg on the main market, Monday to Easter Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed on Good Friday

• Easter Fountain Festival on the Paradeplatz in Ingolstadt starts 2 weeks before Easter, daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• Easter market in Vienna in the courtyard in front of Schönbrunn Palace begins 3 weeks before Easter