Good Friday friends. Today is the beginning of Easter holidays here. I hope you will have a great holidays with your family and friends. Easter Sunday is in two days. I have researched and will share to you some of the Finnish Easter tradition. Rianna is still too small to participate as Easter witches, so I decided to do the Easter egg hunting with her instead. Here are few of the Finnish Easter Traditions.
Easter Witches:
In Finland witches came out during Easter. Young children especially girls dress up as witches in colorful old clothes and painting freckles and rosy checks on their faces and whisking birch twigs decorated with feathers and crepe paper. Those little witches will go door to door bringing decorated twigs as blessings to drive away evil spirits in return for treats or coins. Finnish households will then prepare basket of chocolate easter eggs and sweet treats for the witches to come.
This tradition is performed on Palm Sunday by children from Orthodox families in Southeast Finland, and on Holy Saturday by kids from the Lutheran families of Western Finland.
Easter Egg Hunting For Children:
The eggs whether hard-boiled, chocolate or candy eggs are hidden in the house or outside in the garden by parents. And then, the children are sent outside and can keep whatever Easter goodies they find.
Passion Plays, Oratorios and Bonfires:
In many western Finnish villages, bonfires are still lit to drive away evil spirits on the evening of Easter Saturday, when well-attended church services are also held to prepare to commemorate the Resurrection.
Easter Cuisine:
Roast lamb is the most common main course for a Finnish Easter Sunday family dinner. Two seasonal local desserts are also widely enjoyed. Mämmi is a sludgy-looking dark brown pudding made of malt and rye flour. It is traditionally served in birch bark trays, but is now available in food stores round the country every spring in prepacked in cardboard cartons. Although I haven’t tasted it yet, they said that it tastes delicious especially when served with cream and sugar.
Pasha is a creamy-coloured pudding made of sweetened homemade cheese, eggs, cream and seasonings left overnight to solidify – traditionally in a mould decorated with religious motifs, especially in eastern Finland where the influence of Orthodox Christianity is more prevalent.
What are the Easter traditions in your country?
