This past weekend Easter Week began with Palm Sunday and next weekend it will be Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and in some countries Easter Monday. Throughout Europe, Easter-related festivities fill streets, squares, and stores. For the religious, it’s a time of church services, prayers, and rituals. But it’s more than just a religious celebration, it also means feasting, candy, games, eggs and the Easter Bunny. Around Europe, different cultures have their own traditions to celebrate Easter holiday. Curious to Easter traditions abroad? Read our enumeration of Easter traditions around Europe.

In parts of Northwestern Europe large bonfires, called Easter Fires, are lit on Easter Sunday. While there are various explanations for the origin of the Easter Fires, the most common is that the fires were to chase the darkness of winter away.

In Slovakia and Hungary the girls in the family being sprinkled with water by men on Easter Monday. And in Czech Republic an Easter pomlázka (a braided whip made from pussywillow twigs) is used by boys who go caroling on Easter Monday and symbolically whip girls on the legs. The pussywillow twigs are thought to bring health and youth to anyone who is whipped.

In Latvia it is an Easter tradition to color eggs with materials from nature such as onion skins and birch leaves. Then the people have egg fights where they are smashed together. The one, whose egg shell is the strongest, is said to live the longest. And in Greece the eggs are painted bright red to symbolize the blood of Christ.

In Spain people celebrate in the week leading up to Easter Semana Santa (Holy Week). It’s is one of the most important traditional events. Seville arguably holds the most elaborate processions for Holy Week anywhere in the world.

Do you know other interesting European Easter traditions? Share them with us!