The craziest Easter traditions you’ve ever heard of
In some countries, men buy whips and swat women they fancy with them. If the woman likes the man she would give him a decorated egg or a handful of money.
South Africans are used to celebrating Easter in a very traditional way – hunting for eggs, going to church or just spending time with the family. In other parts of the world however, people tend to have different ideas of how Easter should be celebrated.
Here are some of the most bizarre Easter traditions from all over the world:
• Philippines
For some Catholic Philippines, the time leading up to Easter is excruciatingly painful as many of the devotees whip their backs with bamboo sticks, cut them with sharp blades and even beat each other with whips. This is a tradition they have followed for hundreds of years and is symbolic of the suffering of Jesus before His crucifixion, and a manner in which they cleanse their souls. Devotees would walk through the streets of their home towns barefoot and wearing very little clothing, inflicting these wounds on themselves.
• Greece
Not everyone in the world is as drastic and literal as the Catholic Philippines because the Greeks host massive Traditional Masses on Easter Sunday and come midnight, they ignite fireworks to symbolise the start of Easter. They return home from the firework shows and usually eat bowls of lamb’s stomach soup, mayiritsa or patsas. Meanwhile, each family would start preparing an animal to roast for dinner. Although this is a framework for the Greeks, many islands in the area celebrate the holiday in different ways, for example by hurling clay pots out of their windows.
• Bermuda
In Bermuda, holiday makers fly kites as part of their Easter celebrations. Locals look on as children fly their home-made kites through the skies. The kites are always decorated with bright colours and could be as big as their imaginations. This tradition allegedly started with a teacher who told his children that a kite can represent Christ’s ascension to Heaven. Food is also a huge part of Bermudan Easter.
• Germany
Oberammergau is a village in Germany where residents thank God for sparing them during the plague which threatened to leave the town completely devastated in 1633. They use Easter time to thank God and the holiday goes hand in hand with wooden carvings and a Passion Play where performers tell the story of Christ’s trial and death. The Passion Play usually lasts for a week and is about six hours long every day. Almost every person in the village is a performer in the play. The play however only happens every 10 years – the next one will be in 2020.
• Czech Republic
By far the most bizarre Easter tradition of them all is that of the Czech Republic where it’s allegedly traditional to mug people during this time. Another crazy tradition in the country is for men to buy whips and swat women they fancy with them. If the woman likes the man, she would give him a decorated egg or a handful of money. It is also considered offensive if you don’t get whipped, because it means nobody likes you. The morning after the whipping, women have the chance to throw a bucketful of ice water over the men they like.
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