Easter in Germany

Yesterday we celebrated a very quiet Easter. We didn't do much just pretty much laid around the house all day. We were all exhausted from our trip to Berlin the day before.

Since it was our first Easter in Germany we took part in some of the traditional celebrations here in Bavaria. To start we made our own little "Osterbaum" (Easter Tree) a few weeks ago and have had it proudly displayed on the table. The Easter Bunny must have been impressed because he really loaded the kids up with Kindereggs including the giant ones.




As most of you know Zac will do just about ANYTHING for a Kinderegg so he was extremely excited about the large one he got.



Another tradition in Bavaria is the Osterbrunnen (Easter Fountain). The Easter Fountain is a huge tradition here in the northern section of Bavaria. The women of the town collect hollowed-out eggs throughout the year, color them, string them together and decorate the fountain in the center of their town. The decoration also includes arches and often a crown made of evergreen branches. This custom has its origin in the fact that years ago people realized how important it is to have good water. Water that was blessed on Easter was believed to hold special powers. Children baptized with it would grow up to be especially smart, drinking it would protect you from sickness, and spraying some in your house would keep the bugs and mice away. (quoted from a website on Easter Fountains)

Here are a few pictures of various Osterbrunnens in the area...

Grafenwoehr.. (there were two)





Eschenbach...



Pressath....


Kolhberg....


Neustadt...


Flossenburg...


Plossburg (there were two)




Puchersruth...


Haven't seen enough? Here is a website dedicated to Osterbrunnen throughout Bavaria..

OSTERBRUNNEN