With Easter just a few hours away, it is a good idea to know how people say Happy Easter and its related words or phrases in different languages in different countries. Language learning is not just about learning the language alone, with this one comes to know about the particular culture too. And no culture is complete without its unique set of festivals and holidays associated with it. And same applied to Easter too. Read further this write-up from Hello-Hello Language on the Go and see how people across different countries use Easter-related words.
Let us start with Happy Easter
French: Joyeuses Pâques
German: Frohe Ostern
Italian: Buona Pasqua
Spanish: ¡Felices Pascuas!
Portuguese: Feliz Páscoa
Dutch: Vrolijk Pasen
Russian: С Пасхой (S Pashkoy)
Some words or terms associated with Easter
English:
Easter Eggs
Over Easter, people give and receive Easter eggs. “Why eggs?” you may wonder. This is because they are believed to represent rebirth.
The majority of the time they are made of chocolate but some people also decorate real hard-boiled eggs and artificial eggs made using plastic, filled with chocolate and sweets. Families at times organize an egg hunt, which is a game where parents hide decorated eggs or chocolate eggs for the kids to find.
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is a folkloric character and symbol of Easter, believed to bring Easter eggs and presents to kids. Some kids leave out their baskets the night ahead of Easter. The next morning, they get up to see their baskets full of toys, sweets, and chocolates believed to have been left by the Easter bunny.
Russian
Христос воскрес! (Christos voskres!) or Воистину воскрес! (Voistinu voskres!) first and second person versions
While greeting somebody on Easter day, instead of saying “Hello”, people say “Christ has risen!” to which another person else replies “Indeed he has!”. It is even considered rude if you do not greet another person in this manner when you go to their home for the Easter meal.
Крашенные яйца – Krasheniye yatsa – Dyed eggs
Dyed eggs are a typical aspect of Easter in Russia. People may simply dye them using different colors, or they may get more creative and paint them with flowers, animals, or whatever they usually like. It is a tradition to eat a dyed egg during Easter as they represent the birth of a new life.
Освещать еду – Osveshat edu – To bless food
It is a tradition to bless your food on the eve of Easter. People take their dyed eggs, kulich (a typical Easter cake), sweets and even bread to be blessed by a priest. It is believed that eating blessed food on Easter day will assist you in cleansing your sins. But to keep aside even if it is not blessed, the food is always delicious!
German
Osterkorb – Easter basket
Like in other parts around the world, in Germany certain people have egg hunts. Kids go out into the garden to search for Easter eggs and at times other small gifts such as books or sweets. They may receive small baskets having Easter sweets or empty ones that they could fill with the sweets they gather.
Osterbaum – Easter tree
In Germany, people mostly decorate small trees, bushes or even branches using eggs and toy bunnies, simply as one would decorate a Christmas tree. The eggs could be real or artificial (at times wooden) and the family generally, decorates them together prior to hanging them on the tree.
Ostermarkt – Easter market
Everyone knows Germany loves its festive markets, they love it so much that in certain towns and villages in Germany one can also get to see Easter markets, These begin in March and continue well into April, and as one could imagine, they feature all kinds of eggs! One can also sample various food and drink, or purchase Easter treats and handicrafts.