While lambs, hot cross buns and chocolate eggs are all synonymous with Easter, different peoples and cultures celebrate in vastly different ways across the globe.
To celebrate the special time of year – and as a warm up for plenty of egg-hunting and chocolate eating – we’ve hunted high and low for pictures to remind us of how spectacular Easter can be.
Here we take a look at some of the more unique traditions form around the world – from the bizarre to the downright ridiculous!
It’s like Halloween in Finland
Easter tradition in Finland sees youngsters dress up as witches in colourful clothes to mark the long overdue arrival of spring. Children will offer to bless homes in return for sweets, giving decorated willow twigs to homeowners to ward away evil spirits!
Australian’s chocolate bilby
Bunnies are often thought of as cute and cuddly – but not in Australia as they’ve no natural predator there! The Bilby is an endangered marsupial and chocolate ones are produced every year to raise awareness as an alternative to more traditional chocolate Easter bunnies!
Russian butter lamb
A tradition in Russian and Poland, a slab of butter is moulded into the shape of a lamb to accompany the Easter meal. Some are hand crafted while others are created using moulds – providing options for those who doubt their creative abilities!
Red eggs in Greece
Symbolising the blood of Christ and victory over death, Greeks dye eggs red for Easter. Some are then used in popular Easter games, one of which involves hitting the egg of a friend with your own with the last owner of the unbroken egg considered lucky!
German Easter egg trees
Germans celebrate Easter by decorating trees and bushes with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of brightly coloured Easter eggs – the symbol of life. Every year eggs are painted with different themes and designs while eggs are removed before the spring so as not to damage the tree.
Guatemalan sawdust carpets
Guatemalans celebrate Easter by laying huge carpets of dyed sawdust in the streets, some of which take weeks to prepare. By Easter, huge processions then march over the patterns on their way to church. In 2014, 54 tonnes of sawdust were used to create a sawdust carpet that was 6,600 feet long – earning it a place in the Guinness Book of Records!
Italian Easter bread
Whole raw eggs are added to the dough when baking Italian Easter bread, making it a unique culinary dish. Although edible, the eggs are often dyed and are used for symbolism of fertility and re-birth as much as anything else.
Easter simnel cake
A light fruit cake with marzipan is toasted and eaten during the Easter celebrations in the UK. Eleven or sometimes 12 marzipan balls top the cake, representative of the 12 apostles without Judas or Jesus and the 12 apostles without Judas.
The joys and colours Easter really are on their way...
Find out information on sending parcels during the Easter period