Do you think that you know everything about Easter? Here are some of the craziest Easter traditions from all over the world:
- In Hungary, women dress up in traditional clothes on Easter Sunday and get splashed with water, or sometimes even have a bucket of water chucked over them.
- In the Philippines they have taken to the practice of self-crucifixion and self-flagellation on Easter. Their thinking is that it helps purify them and cleanse them of the sins of the world.
- If you’re a woman and you find yourself in the Czech Republic or Slovakia on Easter Monday, it is perhaps best to stay indoors. Local men and boys roam the streets with gaily decorated willow switches, usually adorned with ribbons, looking for girls to “lightly” whip.
- The people in Bermuda aim high for Easter: kite flying is everyone’s favorite pastime during the holidays. Bermudians make their own kites with wooden sticks, colorful paper, and intricate designs.
- Antigua in southern Guatemala covers its streets in colorful carpets throughout Holy Week in preparation for its Good Friday procession. The long carpets are made from flowers, colored sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and sand.
- In Florence, Italy, locals celebrate a 350-year-old Easter tradition known as Scoppio del Carro, or «explosion of the cart.» A cart packed with fireworks is led through the streets of the city by people in colorful costumes before stopping outside the Duomo. Then, the Archbishop of Florence lights a fuse during Easter mass that leads outside to the cart and sparks a lively fireworks display.
- Young children in Finland — especially girls — traditionally dress up as Easter witches, wearing colorful clothing with painted freckles on their cheeks. They go door-to-door with bunches of willow twigs decorated with colorful feathers and crepe paper. They recite a rhyming blessing to drive away evil spirits, and they are often given a chocolate egg in return.
