News Easter around the world in six time-lapses

We’ve gathered several time-lapse videos as a means to explore how Easter is observed across the globe.

Easter is a Christian, cultural festival and holiday which occurs during springtime.

Scenes like this from Horizon Church are a familiar way of documenting the religious meanings underpinning Easter celebrations. Although this premise may be similar for most, customs may vary in different parts of the world.

Foods

As with any holiday, food can be an important part of traditional customs in various countries.

In Greece, for example, people make Koulourakia to be eaten after Holy Saturday (the last day before Easter).

 
These are desserts made from butter-based pastry with a hint of vanilla which come in various shapes. As the above time-lapse video shows, this can be a tradition for the whole family to get involved with.

Crafts

Another fun element when observing the Easter festival are the different crafting activities typically undertaken. Perhaps most familiar of these is the art of decorating eggs, which is is usually followed by an Easter egg hunt.

The religious significance of hollow eggs is linked with the empty tomb from which Jesus arose after his death.

In Ukraine, egg-decorating is part of the celebrations that begin weeks before the feast on Easter Sunday. Pysanka is a Ukranian Easter egg, decorated with traditional folk designs using a wax-resistant method.

The name for this method – which involves beeswax to create patterns on the egg – takes it name from the verb ‘pysaty’, “to write” or “to in scribe”. From this time-lapse video you can see a compact representation of the pysanka process, which takes hours to complete.

In some countries, the past time of egg rolling, played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs, is part of Easter celebrations.

In the United States, the Easter Egg Roll is an annual event that is held on the White House South Lawn every Easter Monday, involving pushing an egg through the grass with a long-handled spoon. This is hosted by the President and First Lady of the United States for children and their parents to take part.

As the above time-lapse video rather nostalgically demonstrates, this is an incredibly popular occasion; showing 30,000 people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia attending back in 2012.

Travel

Part of the fun at this time of year can also be away from work, either to spend time with family or perhaps travelling.

Stian Rekdal’s time-lapse video documents four days spent in Barcelona during Easter in 2011: a very peaceful story of a very vibrant city. Similarly, Michel Reymond captures some moments of serenity in the Swiss Alps.