Easter Customs Rooted in Meaning

The Easter season starts on Palm Sunday, the Sunday immediately prior to Easter. This takes its name from the account in the Bible in John 12:13 of how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and palm branches were strewn on his path. Although palms are not common in northern Europe, they are held in high esteem at this particular time of the year and in certain areas are still blessed in church, after which they are believed to have protective qualities when taken home.

: Enlarge image; Children carrying palm branches await the beginning of the Palm Sunday procession at the cathedral in Erfurt.; (© dpa - Report)

In some areas a parish palm (Gemeindepalm) is constructed in the shape of a cross and is placed in the church. A similar cross-shaped palm decorated with red ribbons used to be buried close to each house in Rippoldsau in the Black Forest.

Palm branches in the form of pussy willow or hazel decorate many homes, and the head of the household in the Upper Palatinate used to symbolically eat three pussy willow heads on behalf of the other members of the family, and in some areas twigs of palm used to be planted in the garden to ward off lightning.

Green Thursday (Gründonnerstag), known to many in America as Maundy Thursday, was the day on which penitent sinners were accepted back into the church for Communion. It used to be traditional to clean the house thoroughly on this day, a custom which is possibly linked to the preparation for the Passover Feast. Another custom attached to Green Thursday was that of taking a bath, either simply out of a desire to be clean at Easter or possibly as a vague reminder of Jesus Christ's washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, which is thought to have taken place on the Thursday before the crucifixion.

Green food, such as spinach, kale, cress, leek, chives and other herbs are traditionally eaten on Green Thursday, because of the superstitious belief that greens eaten on this day would keep one safe during the year.

: Enlarge image; The traditional Good Friday procession in the town of Lohr attracts thousands of spectators.; (© dpa)

The German name for Good Friday, Karfreitag, comes from the old high German form kara, which has the same meaning as the English word “care.” This gives the meaning of “sorrowful Friday” to the day when Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is also known as quiet Friday (Stiller Freitag). In former times there were far more restrictions on individual behavior on this day than there are today. The drinking of alcohol was strictly forbidden. No one was allowed to kill an animal, and the blacksmith was not allowed to use either hammer or nails, since these were employed in the Crucifixion. In some homes the crockery which had been specially polished during the Green Thursday spring clean was kept covered up in baskets until Easter Saturday, since it was considered unfitting for anything sparkling to be on view on Good Friday.

Many families eat the familiar Lenten food on Good Friday, choosing fish in preference to eggs or meat, and in some areas the bread eaten on Good Friday has the sign of the cross marked on the crust.

On the Saturday before Easter some children make little nests of straw, moss or twigs, known in Swabia as the "Bunny Garden" (Hasengärtle), so that the Easter Bunny will know where to leave his eggs when he makes his deliveries during the night. One can also buy readymade baskets and artificial grass from most department stores in which to collect all the small chocolate eggs, chickens and hares, which are hidden on Easter Sunday morning. For all children there is an exciting start to Easter morning as they set out to hunt for the small chocolate, marzipan, sugar or decorated hen's eggs that have been hidden either in the garden or inside the house, depending on the weather.

If other small presents are given at Easter, they are sometimes put inside a cardboard Easter egg, decorated with spring flowers, Easter bunnies or chicks, which separates into two pieces to reveal the present.

Eggs play an important role in Easter decorations in many homes. Decorated blown eggs are sometimes hung on yellow forsythia branches in a vase together with little wooden painted eggs, Easter bunnies or chicks, which are specially bought for the purpose. Similarly, blown eggs are spiked on to sticks, decorated with ribbons and put into a vase, sometimes with an Easter bird on the central stick, its body made of an eggshell and its plumes and legs made of bright paper or felt.

Besides these decorations, spring flowers, especially daffodils, known is Germany as Osterglocken (Easter bells, and branches of willow are given pride of place in German homes at Easter.

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Easter Customs Rooted in Meaning

Roots of Meaning

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