Easter holiday here and in America: 6 differences

We have been in the States for several years now, and today - on the day of Orthodox Easter - I want to share with you the differences in the celebration here and in the USA. And they consist not only in different dates.

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1. Easter cakes on the table

Oddly enough, sweet cakes are not a mandatory attribute of American Easter. But multi-colored eggs - yes, they will be everywhere in the States, both in decor and on the table. Easter cakes are only common in areas of the United States where Americans with our roots live. There will be plenty of Easter cakes in Russian stores and bakeries on Easter Eve. But in ordinary supermarkets you can probably only find Easter cakes in a gift box for long-term (3-4 months) storage.

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When I treated American neighbors with our cakes (bought in a Russian store), explaining that this was our tradition, they admitted that they were trying them for the first time. Only one neighbor with distant Polish roots said that he had eaten a similar dish in childhood with his grandmother.

2. The rabbit is a symbol of American Easter

According to one legend, on the eve of Easter the goddess of nature turned the bird into a rabbit. The bird, now in a new guise, continued to lay bright chocolate eggs, which in the morning, on Easter Day, can be found in the garden. This tradition came to the States with immigrants from Germany and very soon spread to the whole of America. The egg laying rabbit is now a stable symbol of Easter in the USA. Before coming to America, I sometimes met images of a rabbit in Easter decor, but only then did I understand how it relates to Easter.

3. Insanity decor

One and a half months before the Easter holiday, Easter merchandise appears in the shops and Americans begin to decorate their homes. In our country, everything usually ends in decorating Easter cakes, while in the States, facades of houses, a garden and a lawn in front of the house are decorated. Images of chickens and rabbits for a month and a half inhabit all of America. Ears and beaks will be in every yard and in every shop window.

4. Easter is not only a religious holiday

The most important difference between our Easter and the American one is that for us it is primarily a religious holiday. Baking Easter cakes, painting eggs - all this in order to go to church at night or in the morning. In the States, the Easter holiday has long been overgrown with special, non-religious traditions. All Americans, regardless of religion, and even atheists, consider it their duty to decorate their home with Easter paraphernalia both inside and out. Everyone loves dressing up with bunnies and chicks and participating in an Easter egg hunt.

5. Easter Egg Hunt

Easter egg hunt is a special American fun for children, the likes of which I don’t know in our country. All major public parks host an “Egg Hunt” for the very eggs that, according to legend, were laid out by the Easter Bunny. Children with special baskets and buckets collect bright eggs - plastic molds containing candy or small toys. Often this kind of fun is organized in their garden by grandparents whose grandchildren come to visit them for Easter. Or several families get together and arrange this for their children. This is the same obligatory tradition as gifts under the tree at Christmas.

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After collecting the eggs, the children uncover them and see how well the “hunt” went. The luckiest of all are those who could find the “golden egg” / golden egg. These are eggs in which money has been hidden.

6. Sending postcards

Sending greeting cards to all your acquaintances, friends and relatives is another American Easter tradition. It is still a mystery to me how paper cards could survive in the world of social networks. According to statistics, before Easter the number of postcards sent doubles.

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