Easter

"Easter is usually in April. Then Jesus was resurrected. At Easter we eat Easter eggs. At Easter it is free from school. We grow grass called rai." Anette 12 years old

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Finnish Easter traditions mix religious references with customs related to the long-awaited arrival of spring. Good Friday and the Monday following the Easter Sunday, called Second Easter Day, are both public holidays. Compared to Christmas, Easter is not as enthusiastically celebrated among the Lutheran Finns. Only 1 % of the population in Finland are members of the Orthodox Church but the influence of Orthodox Easter on Finnish ones are significant. Whereas the Orthodox emphasize the joyful message of Easter, the resurrection of Christ, the Lutherans, on the other hand, have a more pious attitude toward it, emphasizing the suffering of Christ.

Instead of the true message of Easter, the growing commercialism around the feast is making Easter more popular. Stores are filled with colourful Easter-kitsch including bunnies, chicks and chocolate Easter eggs, especially appealing to children. Children love to do different sorts of Easter activities from making Easter cards to decorating pussy willow twigs and dyeing and decorating of eggs. At home children plant rye grass in pots and bring in tree twigs that symbolize the rebirth of life after winter and the coming of spring.

Traditional Easter meal includes lamb and the Finnish rye pudding mämmi. It doesn’t look vey attractive but don’t be afraid. It’s worth trying with cream and sugar. Traditionally mämmi was served in a birch bark tray but nowadays it is available in food stores prepacked in cardboard cartons. Another Easter desert is called pasha. It is a creamy-colored pudding made of sweetened homemade cheese, eggs, cream and seasonings left overnight to solidify. It’s eaten more in eastern Finland where the influence of Orthodox Christianity is more prevalent.

At Easter many Finns like to spend their Easter holiday doing sports outside. The days are usually long and sunny and especially in northern and eastern Finland there is still snow, it’s lovely to go skiing.