What is Easter?
Since its origins, Easter has been a time of celebration and feasting, along with other traditional Easter customs such as egg decorating, Easter egg hunts, and more. However, we recently discovered there are many curious ancient and surprisingly modern Easter Traditions from around the world too! Here are some of them:
Trick-or-Treat? Easter in Sweden
When most people think of little kids dressed as goblins or witches, they immediately think of Halloween, right? Well not in Sweden! In this country it is very common to see a little girl trick-or-treating on Easter and this is because Easter usually falls very close to the Swedish tradition of ‘Walpurgis Night’ which is on April 30th. Walpurgis Night in Sweden is celebrated by lighting bonfires to chase away evil spirits and witches from the mortal world. Customary traditions also require that on the Thursday before Walpurgis, little girls paint their faces and dress up as witches, then go from house to house collecting candy.
Easter Witches in Sweden. They don't scare us!
The Famous ‘Easter Tree’ in Germany
This tradition was started by the Kraft family of Saalfeld, Germany more than forty years ago when they began placing plastic eggs in a tree outside their house. Since its inception in 1965, the tradition has grown from only a handful of plastic eggs to hundreds of beautifully painted egg shells. In addition, the family even has an official site: http://www.eierbaum-saalfeld.de/
The famous 'Easter Tree' in Germany. Puts some of our Christmas Trees to shame!
While it may look odd, the tradition is enjoyed by the whole town. Besides, who says you can’t have a Christmas tree AND an Easter tree?
The Giant Omelette en France
The Giant Omelette in France. Don't forget your fork - and your appetite!
In Haux, France, a giant omelette is cooked in the town square by villagers on Easter Monday. For the gigantic creation, approximately 4,500 eggs are used and apparently the feast can feed up to 1000 people – naturally, just in time for lunch. So if you happen to be visiting Haux during Easter, be sure to bring your own fork!
And speaking of giant omelettes, did you know that circa 1987, The Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver (Le Meridien at that time) held the title for creating the world’s largest omelette? Oh yes folks, on that fateful day, 100 of Vancouver’s top dignitaries were invited to watch the hotel staff use a custom made stainless steel frying pan (the length of the hotel driveway no less), dozens of snow shovels (used as spatulas) and 45,000 eggs to create a fabulous egg-stravaganza fit for the Guinness Book of World Records! Sadly though, we have no pictures of this momentous event in our archives, but we’ll let your imagination do all the work…
The Easter Bilby in Australia Mate
If you happen to be down under for Easter, don’t look too hard for the Easter bunny because you won’t find him! Australians aren’t very fond of rabbits because those little hoppers have destroyed their crops and vegetation over the years. The Aussies prefer the Bilby, their native marsupial, as their Easter mascot instead. So in place of Chocolate Bunnies, you can find Chocolate Bilbies – perhaps not as accepted around the world, but just as cute if you ask us!
Forget Cadbury Cream Eggs: how about a Chocolate Bilby?
The Butter Lamb in Poland
Baranek Wielkanocny is Polish for ‘butter lamb’, which is exactly what it sounds like: a lamb made entirely out of, well, butter. However, this is not just a decorative centerpiece for your Easter spread, as Polish people around the country actually consume the lamb in its entirety. Tradition states that the lamb must always be present if a priest blesses the Easter meal, and thereafter, should be consumed from the tail, leaving the head for last. Here is the recipe for those of you who are looking to kick the cholesterol up a notch this Easter: http://bit.ly/aLdJdc
The Polish 'Butter Lamb'. Looks almost too cute to eat, doesn't it?
And for the More Traditional Folk, There’s Easter – Sutton Style!
So we have shared with you some peculiar Easter events that take place around the globe, but here at Sutton, our annual Easter events are a little more on the traditional side.
Easter Sunday Brunch at The Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver - a family favourite!
For Vancouverites, they can bring their families into the Fleuri Restaurant on Easter Sunday for Sutton Vancouver’s delicious Easter Sunday Brunch – a long-standing Sutton tradition. Festive celebrators can feast on an assortment of decadent brunch items including delicious meats at our carving stations, made-to-order omelettes, Dim Sum, fresh items at our raw bar and delectable dessert displays, featuring a number of items from the world-famous Chocoholic Buffet.
If you prefer to get away for the first long weekend of the year, then Sutton’s Revelstoke Mountain Resort is serving up some last minute skiing and snowboarding before the season’s end. In addition to that fresh spring powder, vacationers can also take part in other local Easter events, such as the Stoke to Spoke Relay Race, the Season End Kick Off Party or the Season Passholder Appreciation Day and Easter Pancake Breakfast: http://bit.ly/HmVNJB.
A weekend getaway to Revelstoke Mountain Resort anyone?
If you’re living in Alberta, then Easter is a great time to visit Vegreville, home of the ‘World’s Largest Easter Egg’. This landmark egg is only an hour and a half east of The Sutton Place Hotel, and to boot, we have some great long weekend rates ripe for the picking. Not to mention, there are tons of other fun Easter events taking place in Edmonton during the holiday, so you’ll never be at a loss for things to do.
The World's Largest Pysanka Egg (Vegreville, AB) - a must see!
Whatever your Easter plans are this year, The Sutton Place Hotel Company wishes you and your family the best for the season, whether it involves chocolate, bunnies, brunches, butter lambs, giant omelettes or anything else!
Happy Easter!
THE SUTTON 