Easter is celebrated in many parts of the world, but it does not look the same everywhere. In some countries it is marked by solemn processions and church rituals, while in others it brings playful customs, public festivals, family food traditions, or highly local events that feel unlike anything a UK reader might expect. Across Spain, Greece, Sweden, Poland, Bermuda, Australia, the USA and parts of Canada, Easter reveals a lot about local culture as well as religion.
That is what makes Easter such an interesting lens for a travel and expat guide. Seasonal traditions often show the side of a country that guidebooks miss: how communities gather, what foods matter, which public events feel important, and how national identity gets expressed in small rituals as well as big spectacles.
Key takeaways
- Spain is known for Holy Week processions, religious brotherhoods, drums, flowers and elaborate floats carried through city streets, especially in places such as Seville and Malaga.
- Greece treats Easter as the most important festival in the Orthodox calendar, with red eggs, midnight services and, in Corfu, the dramatic throwing of clay pots from balconies on Holy Saturday.
- Sweden gives Easter a very different feel, with children dressing as Easter witches and going door to door with drawings in exchange for sweets.
- Poland combines religious and family traditions through the blessing of Easter baskets and the water-splashing custom of Śmigus-Dyngus on Easter Monday.
- Bermuda, Australia, the USA and Canada all add their own twist, from Good Friday kite flying to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the White House Easter Egg Roll, and pysanka traditions in parts of western Canada.
Spain: Easter as a full-scale public spectacle
In Spain, Easter Week, or Semana Santa, is not a minor seasonal holiday. It is one of the country’s most important traditional events, and the atmosphere can take over entire cities and towns. Spain’s official tourism site describes streets filled with drums, flowers and religious sculpture, with communities actively taking part in events and traditions throughout Holy Week.
What makes Spain stand out is the scale and intensity of the processions. In Seville, religious brotherhoods carry richly decorated floats through the old town, while Malaga has its own distinctive rituals and Cuenca is known for its religious music festival during the same period. So while Easter is celebrated across much of Europe, in Spain it often feels like a city-wide cultural event as much as a religious one.
Greece: red eggs, midnight services and smashed pots in Corfu
In Greece, Easter is widely regarded as the most important festival in the Orthodox Christian calendar. Traditional foods are prepared during Holy Week, including tsoureki and Easter biscuits, and red eggs are dyed as a symbol linked to rebirth and the Resurrection.
Corfu has one of the most distinctive Easter customs anywhere in Europe. On Holy Saturday morning, bells ring out for the “First Resurrection” and locals throw large clay pots, known as botides, from balconies and windows. According to the official Greek tourism site, the custom is tied to Corfu’s history under Venetian rule, and the smashing sound is often seen as a symbol of life defeating death.
Sweden: Easter witches instead of solemn processions
Sweden’s Easter traditions can surprise visitors who expect the holiday to look broadly similar across Europe. One of the best-known customs is the story of the Easter witches. The official site of Sweden explains that an old legend linked Maundy Thursday with witches flying to Blåkulla, and today children still dress up in scarves and painted cheeks, then go from house to house with drawings in exchange for sweets.
That gives Swedish Easter a more playful, folk-tradition feel than the large public processions seen in southern Europe. It is still a meaningful seasonal holiday, but the visual identity is completely different, which is exactly why Easter around the world makes such an interesting cultural comparison.
Poland: blessed baskets and a soaking on Easter Monday
In Poland, Easter is shaped by both religious symbolism and strong family customs. One of the most recognisable traditions is the święconka, the Easter basket prepared on Holy Saturday and taken to church to be blessed. Official Polish sources describe baskets containing symbolic foods such as bread, eggs, sausage, salt, horseradish and cake, often decorated with lace and greenery.
Then the tone changes on Easter Monday with Śmigus-Dyngus, often called Wet Monday. This custom centres on splashing water on friends and family, and it remains one of Poland’s most playful Easter traditions. That contrast between solemn ritual and cheerful mischief is part of what makes Polish Easter stand out.
Bermuda: Good Friday in the sky
Bermuda has one of the clearest examples of a place-specific Easter tradition. Good Friday is strongly associated with handmade kite flying, and Bermuda’s tourism board describes these kites as an important part of the island’s Easter celebrations, symbolising hope and renewal. Families gather to make and fly them, turning the sky into part of the celebration.
It is the sort of custom that instantly gives a destination its own Easter identity. While many countries have egg-based traditions or church services, Bermuda’s kite culture feels visually and culturally distinctive in a way that travellers tend to remember.
Australia: showgrounds, farm culture and the Easter bilby
Australia’s Easter traditions mix mainstream family celebrations with a distinctly local twist. One of the country’s biggest seasonal events is the Sydney Royal Easter Show, held annually over Easter and described by its organisers as one of Australia’s most iconic events. It blends entertainment, rides, food, competitions and farm animals, while also reflecting the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales’ wider mission to support agriculture and rural communities.
Australia also has the Easter bilby, a native animal sometimes promoted as the local alternative to the Easter Bunny. In 2023, the Australian Prime Minister publicly referred to the greater bilby as “Australia’s answer to the Easter Bunny” while announcing support for bilby conservation. That gives Easter in Australia a small but memorable national variation that links the season to wildlife and environmental awareness.
USA: the White House Easter Egg Roll
In the United States, Easter traditions vary widely by region, community and church, but the country’s most famous public Easter custom is the White House Easter Egg Roll. The White House Historical Association says the event has been hosted by presidents and their families since 1878 and takes place on the South Lawn, making it one of the oldest annual traditions in White House history.
That does not mean every American Easter celebration looks like the White House event, of course, but it does show how Easter in the US often blends family-friendly public ritual with national symbolism. It feels less tied to one dominant nationwide religious spectacle than in Spain or Greece, and more associated with community events, egg hunts and iconic public traditions. The Easter Egg Roll is the clearest example of that.
Canada: regional traditions and Ukrainian Easter heritage
Canada is slightly different from some of the countries above because there is not one single Easter custom that defines the whole country. A better way to understand Canadian Easter is through regional and community traditions, especially in places where immigrant heritage has had a long influence. In western Canada, Ukrainian Easter heritage remains especially visible. Government of Canada material notes that early Ukrainian immigrants settled largely in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
One of the strongest symbols of that tradition is the giant pysanka in Vegreville, Alberta. Travel Alberta describes it as the world’s largest Easter egg and says it reflects the area’s rich Ukrainian heritage. So while Canada may not have one instantly recognisable national Easter ritual in the way Bermuda or Greece does, it still offers a distinctive Easter story through its regional cultures.
Why Easter traditions tell you something deeper about a country
Looking at Easter around the world is about more than quirky customs. These traditions often reveal how a country balances religion, family life, public celebration, local folklore and regional identity. Spain’s processions feel rooted in history and community participation, Greece’s Easter is deeply tied to Orthodox tradition, Sweden brings in folklore, Poland mixes ritual with play, and places such as Bermuda, Australia, the USA and Canada show how Easter can take on a very different local character.
For travellers, expats and anyone curious about life abroad, that is part of the appeal. Holidays can tell you a surprising amount about what everyday culture feels like in a place, and Easter is a good example of that. If you are interested in learning more about moving overseas and understanding life in different countries, explore more of Visa Bureau’s travel, visa and relocation guides.
Image Credit:
Official White House Photo by Carlos Fyfe, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)