Top 5: Places for Easter Celebrations

St. Patrick’s Day is over, and, if you haven’t already, you’ll see grocery store aisles stocked with chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps and pastel-colored candy ,which only means one thing, it’s Easter. Besides Valentine’s Day, Easter is the largest holiday where consumers find themselves enjoying handfuls of candy — but that’s just one part of the celebration. Many dye eggs in bright colors to strategically hide them around the home for an egg hunt on Easter Sunday.

Easter is a widely celebrated holiday and every country uses its own beliefs, traditions and customs to celebrate as uniquely as possible. Here are the top five places to celebrate Easter.

Malta

Located in the Mediterranean Sea, close to Italy, Malta is a country and group of islands consisting of only three main inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. Malta, one of the most religious Catholic countries in the world, hosts various parades and celebrations with great passion and spirituality. It is one of the most interesting destinations to spend Easter and Holy Week.

Rome

One of the biggest holidays in the Italian calendar, Easter or Pasqua, is elaborately celebrated in the Eternal City. Easter is celebrated with pilgrimages, streets blooming in scents of spring, windows filled with chocolate eggs and greenery, giving birth to a fresh new Rome. The small neighborhood churches, each with distinctive charm, engulf you in the same magnificent atmosphere of traditions and Catholicism as St. Peter’s Basilica. Besides Easter Sunday, “the little Easter” held the Monday after, is filled with celebrations among friends enjoying picnics and nature.

Jerusalem

If you are religious, the Holy Land of Jerusalem is a perfect destination to spend Easter. Even if you are not religious, Jerusalem is the most sacred place in the world, dating back nearly 4,000 years. Each year, thousands of Christians head to Jerusalem during Holy Week, embarking on a remarkable range of pilgrimages. This unique experience is full of emotion and intensity. The contrast between the Old City and the new makes Jerusalem a vibrant, culture-rich destination.

Madrid

In Madrid, Semana Santa, or Holy Week comes with more than 20 religious processions beginning with Palm Sunday, where locals purchase palm branches and laurel in the memory of Jesus. The most important event on Easter Sunday is the traditional Tamborada del Domingo de Resurrection, consisting of drummers marching and performing in the famous Plaza Mayor. Be sure to taste the torrijas, an Easter sweet of slices of bread soaked in milk, sugar and egg, then fried in olive oil.

Romania

Bucovina, Romina, one of the most traditional and picturesque regions in Romania, is a unique place to spend the Easter holiday. One of the most common traditions in Bucovina is the painting and decoration of the eggs, a custom and veritable form of art passed down from one generation to the next. Known for its beautifully painted monasteries, this quaint corner of Romania is dressed in holiday garb. Holy Week is when people named for flowers are celebrated and willow branches are brought to the church to be sanctified. All Christians are suggested to abstain from human pleasures, whether corporal or food related. The Great Sunday is celebrated with food, drinks, new clothes and harmony.