Egg blowing and Easter fire - The German-speaking world celebrates Easter
Easter Vigil ("Ostermesse")
Easter Vigil is a service held in many German churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. It is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day. Usually the church is not lighted at the beginning but attendants light candles after some time in the darkness. Since the beginning of Lent the word “Halleluja” is used for the first time again. After mass there often is an Easter fire in front of the church.
Easter fire ("Osterfeuer")
Enlarge image
(© picture-alliance / ZB)
In the night from Saturday to Easter Sunday branches and twigs are piled up to make an enormous bonfire. Originally an ancient Germanic rite the Easter fire was incorporated into Christianity, symbolically dispelling of spirits, brushing aside the last traces of winter and heralding spring, life and birth. This tradition can be found predominantly in the smaller towns of Northern Germany, where the Easter fire serves as a festive get-together for young and old.
Easter water ("Osterwasser")
In small villages young girls used to fetch fresh spring water at dawn. In the process they should not talk, but carry out this task in complete silence. As a reward they would grow "as beautiful as sweet violets". But make no mistake! This was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, as the boys would do their very best to make the girls talk or laugh. Some would go out of their way to accomplish this goal. If Easter water was fetched in the right fashion it was said to be magic and have incredible healing powers. When you hear somebody talking of Easter water today, they will most probably mean holy water blessed in the Easter mass, but sometimes it is also used as a term for a good shot of Easter schnaps
Searching for Easter Eggs (“Ostereier suchen”)
On Easter Day German children search for Easter eggs. Their mothers hide them in the gardens or parks where the whole family will go for a walk. However, little children are told that the Easter bunny brought all the colourful eggs. Siblings often compete who will find most of them.
Egg blowing ("ausgeblasene Eier")
Enlarge image
(© colourbox)
In Germany and Austria people decorate their homes with hollow ("blown") eggs, which dangle from yellow forsythia branches or are fixed onto twigs, decorated with ribbons and arranged in vases. Hollow eggs are essential to creating a German Easter flair – but how exactly do you go about it?
You will need: raw eggs, a needle (e.g. a darning needle), bowl, paper towels and glue
The following steps will help you produce your hollow Easter egg:
Hold the egg firmly but gently and pierce a hole in the top and the bottom of the egg using the needle. Ensure that one hole is a bit bigger than the other one. Pass the needle through the larger hole and, breaking the yolk inside, stir the contents. Blow into the smaller hole so that the contents come out of the large hole and drop into the bowl. Run a little water through the large hole to clean out the egg. Gently shake the egg as you rinse until the egg is completely clean. Otherwise it will begin to smell after a while. Let dry on a paper towel. After the egg has dried, you can put a few drops of glue over the holes to protect the egg from further cracking. Now it is ready to decorate.
