Along with Christmas, Easter is one of the most important religious festivities for Christians and it's the day when religious people celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and culminates in the commemorations of Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday. In Europe, there are traditional ways to celebrate this festivity, then, there are some very awkward ways of celebrating Easter. Here are 10 super-weird Easter Traditions around Europe.
1 France
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On Easter Monday, the residents of Haux in France crack more than 4,500 eggs into a gigantic pan to make a massive Easter omelette, which will then be served to over 1,000 people. Each family breaks the eggs in their homes in the morning and they gather in the main square where the eggs are cooked. W-egg-ird.
2 The Netherlands
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On Easter Sunday, after spending the morning painting and searching for eggs in the morning, families gather for a traditional brunch in The Netherlands. Like in France, eggs are at the center here where they are normally served with vegetables like spinach and asparagus. Not so weird. Keep reading.
3 Czeck Republic & Slovakia
Photo by Jessica Furtney
If you're a woman and you find yourself in the Czech Republic or Slovakia on Easter Monday: stay indoors. Yeah, men there have a very weird habit of going out to whip women with willow switches. They say it's to encourage good health and beauty, still it's quite harsh and not so nice. WeirdTF?
4 Finland
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It seems like Finnish people aren't quite sure about when Halloween is, since children dress up as witches and wander the streets with broomsticks in the hunt for treats. Yeah. The same as Halloween. Quite weird indeed.
5 Greece
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Colourful eggs are part of most Easter traditions all around the world, but not in Greece. There you will find red, red and red eggs. You see, red is the colour of the blood of Christ, so the red eggs mean victory over death. #bloodyweird.
6 Norway
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Easter, we were saying is all about Christ's resurrection. Erm, not in Norway actually. It's crime time there. All over the TV channels you will find crime shows and bookstores are filled with freshly-printed detective novels. Even the milk cartons carry short detective stories on their side during the Easter period. **So scary weird. **
7 Corfu
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If in Czeck Republic you need to stay indoors, also in Corfu it's better to avoid the streets. At 11 o'clock am, people gather at their windows to throw all sort of pottery down the streets. Oh and they fill them with water for extra noise. Ouch! Weird.
8 Italy
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The "Easter Weirdness Festival, carries on in Florence where locals celebrate
the day by exploding a cart. Yes, you read that right, they pack fireworks on a cart which is then led all around the city right up to the Duomo where the Archbishop of Florence then set it to fire with a fuse. #Weirdbomb.
9 Spain
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In the Medieval town of Verges, Spain, locals dance the traditional "dansa de la mort" or "death dance". At midnight, everyone, dressed in skeleton costumes and carryng boxes of ashes, parades through the streets until early in the morning. Dead. Weird.
10 Hungary
In Hungary on Easter Monday, young men used to pour buckets of water over young women's heads to help with their fertility (???), but now they spray perfume, cologne or perfumed water, and ask for a kiss. Wet weird.
Do you know of any other funny or weird celebrations? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy Easter!
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