Beautifully Festive Easter Traditions Around The World - Part 4. Germany

Germany

Germany has been called Das Land der Dichter und Denker meaning; the country of poets and thinkers. Although during the holidays you would think they would be called, Das Land der künstlerischen meaning; the country of the artistic for the beautiful way they creatively decorate the towns.

Easter trees

Weeks before Easter Germans prepare by decorating the town.

When one thinks of decorating a tree the first thing that comes to mind. However, in Germany - Easter trees are a bigger deal to them. The average tree is decorated with around 700 decorated eggs. The record for the most eggs on an Easter tree was set in 2007 by Zoo Rostock GmbH, Rostock, Germany pictured here in this photo.

Pysanka

Easter Sunday morning, children wake to find their hidden Easter baskets fulled with candy, little trinket gifts and toys, chocolate bunnies and colorful hard boiled eggs. Some might even be fortunate enough to find intricately and beautifully decorated eggs called Pysanka. They use a wax-resist technique called batik. Just one egg can take several hours to complete. Eggs are a common symbol of fertility in paganism religions, but they are now tied to Christianity as symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Egg jarping

People young and old like to play a game called egg jarping....more commonly known in the United States as egg tapping. The rules are quite simple, you take an an egg - most commonly hard boiled..you could use a raw egg if you don't mind the mess. You tap your opponents egg. If your egg breaks you are out, if your egg stays in tact you continue on using the same egg tapping the next opponents egg and this continues until there is just one person with their egg unbroken.

Another fun yet simple game they like to play is the Egg Dance. This game originated in Germany. You just place the eggs on the ground or floor and you dance around the eggs in hopes of not breaking them.

Easter Well

Besides the Easter Tree, through out Germany you will also find many different styles of an Easter Wells. Germans decorate the wells with eggs and evergreen garland that is woven around the well heads are formed in to crowns over them. Pensala (a ribbon made of paper) is also part of the decoration. Included in the decorations are flowers.

Germans first started doing this in 1909 in the village of Engelhardsberg. They do this during the Easter season to honor water which is essential for life and the feast of renewed life. They are usually put up for Good Friday and kept up for two weeks after Easter.

Draping of the cross

Germans begin their Easter on Good Friday (Karfreitag) by draping the cross. Catholic Germans commonly use a pall during Holy Week and they cover all religious symbols. Purple is the color of royalty, but it's also the color of mourning, which acknowledges both Christ's kingship over the world and His death. The purple cloth also symbolizes a shroud because we are commemorating His death and burial. The coverings are removed after the Easter vigil to celebrate His resurrection from the dead. On this day Germans traditionally have fish for lunch.

Cologne Cathedral

After a morning of children finding their sweet filled baskets, church services and Easter Egg hunts and games, many end their day by going to a night mass at Cologne Cathedral.

Cologne Cathedral with its Gothic style architecture is a renowned monument of German Catholicism. Clearly one of the most beautiful of cathedrals. From a top view the roof is made to look like a cross. Ground breaking started in 1248 and was halted in 1473, construction restarted in the 19th century and was completed by 1880 according to its original design. It has since been declared a World Heritage Site. Absolutely stunning.

Passion Play

The "Black Death" other wise known as the Plague,came to Oberammergau in 1632. In just a years time, nearly every German family in Oberammergau lost at least one family member if not more. The death rate climbed from 1000 per year in October 1632 to more than 20 per month in March of 1633. The people of Oberammergau made a solemn vow to perform a play (known as the Passion Play) depicting the life of Jesus. The death rate started t o decline in July of 1633 and people of the town kept their promise. In 1634 on he Pentecost they built a stage at the cemetery where many plague victims lie. They perform this play every ten years and people come from all over the world to see it, with reservations booked years in advance.