Easter is one of the most important and oldest Christian holidays, which celebrates the death and
resurrection of Jesus. It is one of the moveable feasts as it falls on the first Sunday after the first
ecclesiastical full moon. The holiday is preceded by the 40-days- long period called the Great Lent,
which is an important time of penance for Christians in preparation for celebrating Easter. There is a
great number of traditions and customs accompanying Easter, but we’ve collected for you the top 5.
#1 Easter Bunny
Similarly to Christmas, on Easter people receive small gifts and sweets, instead of Santa Claus they
are brought by the Bunny. They are often hidden about the house or in the garden so children can
have more fun out of looking for them. This custom originated from Germany, but now is
widespread across Europe.
#2 Painting Eggs
The main task for Great Saturday is preparing the food basket to be blessed in the church. Although
the contents of the basket vary from family to family, everyone includes painted eggs called pisanki.
One or multi-coloured, with patterns, glossy, decorated with paint, dye or special markers, with
stickers – there are as many ideas as people, but pisanki are the integral part of Easter.
#3 Easter Breakfast
Well, you probably wonder what happens with the food from the Great Saturday basket. People
have it at a celebratory breakfast on Easter Sunday, which also involves exchanging best wishes.
#4 Wet Monday
Polish tradition holds that on Easter Monday people squirt each other with water. Once it was
observed to greet nature waking up after winter, nowadays for fun. It’s worth preparing well for this
day by buying the necessary arsenal ranging from little squirting eggs to water pistols beforehand –
no holds barred.
#5 Spring break – Polish edition
The last, but extremely important tradition, especially for students and pupils. From Great Thursday
until Tuesday after Easter, most of the schools are closed and students can enjoy well-deserved few
days off.