Easter in Switzerland

Easter calls for a time to celebrate and rejoice the resurrection of Jesus, in all the parts of the world. When it comes to Easter celebrations, Switzerland is not far behind. In the country, this festive occasion, which marks the onset of spring season, is celebrated with much fanfare and religious fervor. Hectic preparations start a week in advance. Everybody gears up for the occasion. Shops as well as homes are decorated with colorful bunnies, different chocolates, vibrant and colorful eggs and special Easter cakes. Switzerland has its own traditional way of celebrating the springtime festival of Easter. A specific Easter tradition followed in Switzerland is that the cuckoo brings the Easter eggs. Easter eggs, cuckoo and baskets are a vital part of Easter celebrations in Switzerland, used everywhere to enhance its spirit.

Chocolate cuckoos, colored eggs and special Easter cakes are displayed a week before the festival, to remind people, especially children, about the approaching holy festival. A Biblical passion play is staged on the last Thursday of Lent period. The next day on Good Friday, a procession takes place, where people carry two sculptures - one of dead Christ and one of Mother Mary, through the streets. On Easter Sunday, children wake up and search the house, for colorful eggs to fill their baskets with. The child who gathers the most number of eggs on Easter is declared the winner. He/she also receives an additional gift, like sugar eggs, chocolate eggs, and little chocolate and marzipan rabbits with colored sugar flutings, apart from the collected eggs.

Another popular Easter game in Switzerland is the 'Zwanzgerle', wherein the adults have to break the decorated eggs of their children with a twenty cent coin. If he/she fails, he loses the twenty cent coin. In case he/she wins, he gets both the coin and the egg. Another tradition that is specific to western Switzerland is called 'weeping women'. In this, women carry crimson cushions, bearing the symbols of Christ's passion, through the streets. The cushion contains nails used in the crucifixion, the crown of thorns that was placed on His head and the handkerchief that St. Veronica used to wipe Christ's brow as He carried the cross (which was also incredibly imprinted with the image of his face). All in all, Easter is celebrated with a lot of fanfare and gusto in Switzerland.