Quirky Easter
traditions endure
Easter traditions can get pretty quirky depending on where you are in the world.
In parts of Scandinavia, like Sweden and Finland, kids dress up as witches'complete with broomsticks and painted faces'going door-to-door trading drawings for candy. It's like Halloween crashed into Easter, tied to old folklore about witches flying off to dance with the devil on Maundy Thursday.
Then there's Poland with its "Wet Monday," where people douse each other with water'buckets, squirt guns, whatever's handy. It's got roots in pagan spring rituals and a bit of Christian symbolism about cleansing, but mostly it's a free-for-all splash fest. Guys used to chase girls with water, and girls would retaliate with willow switches the next day, though now it's equal-opportunity soaking.
In Greece, the island of Corfu has a wild one: on Holy Saturday morning, people chuck clay pots out their windows onto the streets below. It's a chaotic symphony of smashing pottery, supposedly to ward off evil spirits or mark renewal'plus, it's just satisfying to hurl stuff.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, there's a tradition where men lightly "whip" women with handmade willow switches on Easter Monday. It's meant to bring health and vitality, and the women often give out painted eggs or a shot of booze in return. It's playful, but it's definitely not your standard egg hunt.
And if you're in Bermuda, Good Friday means flying kites'bright, handmade ones buzzing in the sky. Legend ties it to a teacher explaining Jesus' ascension to kids with a kite, but it's also just a gorgeous way to kick off the weekend.
