In these magical times I had no idea that there are other countries; not to indicate other customs. Like flying home-made kites in Bermuda, reading detective stories in Norway, ornamenting trees with Easter eggs (specially red and green) in Germany. Or decorating wells with spring flowers in Switzerland, growing wheat in pots on windowsills in the USA and Easter egg hunt in the UK. As for this last convention, I was shocked to find out that children of the British Isles often think eggs come from rabbits, not hens – ‘cause that’s Easter bunny hiding tasty eggs for them in March or April every year!
Worth mentioning fact about Australia: fertile bunnies brought from Europe have rather ‘black PR’ down under so that’s not them who provide children with new-life-eggs but the Easter Bilby (an endangered species of Australia).
On the whole I recognize cultural diversity as a great value in our globalized world; yet it was very nice to read that in ‘brother-like’ Hungary they throw water on each other – exactly as our ‘shower pour’ on Holy Monday. Even if I personally hate this idea and hide myself at home on this very day!
Well, in borther-like Hungary it's mostly not wather what boys are using to pour you but eau de Cologne. But cheap ones. Meaning that these perfumes have a really bad snmell... I remember when I was a kid we had to wash our hair twice a day on Holy Monday: once before the first guy arrived and once after the last one left. It was a horror as a smell girl - still, somehow I found it good that we still keep these kind of tradtitons in big cities (like in Budapest) as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the Easter bunny: by us it's kind of the same as in Germany (as a lot of our traditions are originated from the land of beer and pretzel) and I just wanted to add that this whole bunny stuff is coming from a mistranslation from the Bible. Just like Michelangelo's Moses with the honres on the head....;)
Thanks for Bilby! I've spent last Easter in Australia and nobody mentioned that! I've seen some bilbies in ZOO, they are really strange creatures.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with English