If you think Christmas is the most important festival for Europeans, you probably haven’t visited Germany during Easter …
For many these days, Easter celebrations amount to a Sunday roast (typically lamb) with the family and a quick hunt for chocolate eggs in the garden. Not so the Germans. Over there, Easter begins long before the Easter weekend, as people prepare for the upcoming festivities. And in Bavaria, they really push the boat out.
Eggs are blown out and their shells painted in bright colours to be hung on Easter trees and anywhere else you care to think of – on bushes in the garden and traditionally at the village well – since it is the source of life giving water. Easter baskets are laden with goodies – eggs, chocolate eggs and candies, Easter ham and Spring flowers. Egg shells are buried in the garden to ensure a good harvest.
The festival itself starts pretty quietly with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday –no church bells are rung and people attend church services. Traditionally fish is served on Good Friday. Things get livelier by Saturday, as families head out to enjoy the Spring sunshine (well, hopefully!) – which around Karma Bavaria often means heading to the shores of Lake Schliersee, or trekking in the Alpine foothills. In the evening, people gather around bonfires, which traditionally were built with the wood from old Christmas trees. The origins of the practice are probably pre-Christian and a relic of the Pagan past – a symbol of the warmth that Spring will impart to the earth after the long winter.
Easter Sunday is all about the Easter egg hunt (which actually originated in Germany) and roast lamb feast – but on a much grander scale than elsewhere. Children search gardens for toys, Easter eggs & bunnies and baskets filled with goodies. Roast lamb is often followed by a lamb shaped cake.
Easter Monday – also a holiday – is given over to colourful pageants and parades featuring horses and carriages and marching bands. Throughout the weekend, you can visit colourful Easter markets selling traditional fare.
Karma Bavaria is the perfect base from which to discover the magic of a Bavarian Easter – in the resort itself, you’ll be treated to lots of seasonal delights, from classical dishes to Easter egg hunts.
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