Nice one Katja, sounds like your guests have a wonderful time both culturally and historically, the Easter traditions in the DDR sound free and full of colour not something one associates with East Germany, i like these nuggets of everyday life and traditions of the average citizen.
Nice, gentle read reminding me of great Easter experiences as an austauschschüler in Solingen, NRW. Hunting small Easter eggs - some chocolate, some dyed and painted. Families also had an ‘Easter tree’ which, from memory, seemed to be willow sprigs in a big vase with egg shells painted and decorated by us children.
I remember thinking it was as good as Christmas. Happy days in, in my mind, a better culture.
Frohe Ostern Katja. I have to say the family Easter celebrations in the DDR sound thoroughly charming (queue someone jumping in with some whataboutery); the focus on family, what’s not to like? I imagine the Christian message of Easter is not foremost in a great many British homes, not all that different from your erstwhile homeland. I have to say I very much like the idea of cardboard heirloom eggs; do they still make them? Full disclosure I deplore the rampant commercialisation of Easter and Christmas. Good read on Easter Sunday.
A travelling historian what’s not to love 👏👏👏I bet your guests enjoyed that , living here in the NW of England I’ve been amazed how big Easter 🐣 is in comparison with other parts of the UK that I’ve lived in , here we have shop windows decked out , and people shop for Easter similar to Xmas ( I’m a butcher ) which has really surprised me .
Growing up in Eastern European-culturally influenced household, pisanki-coloring hard-boiled eggs was always a fun and looked forward to activity. Eating the hard-boiled eggs was another matter altogether. And speaking of Easter- traditional dishes, let's not even discuss czernia! Another much more appealing tradition was my Babci's paczki, eaten on Fat Tuesday.
After retiring, I did a German degree at University. Each year I would ask the young German Erasmus students who taught me so much ( Erasmus: those were the days…) what most surprised them about England. I got some remarkable replies - e.g. red bricks, drainpipes on buildings, carpets in pubs… And from a French student, black faces reading tv news.
Nice one Katja, sounds like your guests have a wonderful time both culturally and historically, the Easter traditions in the DDR sound free and full of colour not something one associates with East Germany, i like these nuggets of everyday life and traditions of the average citizen.
Nice, gentle read reminding me of great Easter experiences as an austauschschüler in Solingen, NRW. Hunting small Easter eggs - some chocolate, some dyed and painted. Families also had an ‘Easter tree’ which, from memory, seemed to be willow sprigs in a big vase with egg shells painted and decorated by us children.
I remember thinking it was as good as Christmas. Happy days in, in my mind, a better culture.
Frohe Ostern Katja. I have to say the family Easter celebrations in the DDR sound thoroughly charming (queue someone jumping in with some whataboutery); the focus on family, what’s not to like? I imagine the Christian message of Easter is not foremost in a great many British homes, not all that different from your erstwhile homeland. I have to say I very much like the idea of cardboard heirloom eggs; do they still make them? Full disclosure I deplore the rampant commercialisation of Easter and Christmas. Good read on Easter Sunday.
A travelling historian what’s not to love 👏👏👏I bet your guests enjoyed that , living here in the NW of England I’ve been amazed how big Easter 🐣 is in comparison with other parts of the UK that I’ve lived in , here we have shop windows decked out , and people shop for Easter similar to Xmas ( I’m a butcher ) which has really surprised me .
Growing up in Eastern European-culturally influenced household, pisanki-coloring hard-boiled eggs was always a fun and looked forward to activity. Eating the hard-boiled eggs was another matter altogether. And speaking of Easter- traditional dishes, let's not even discuss czernia! Another much more appealing tradition was my Babci's paczki, eaten on Fat Tuesday.
After retiring, I did a German degree at University. Each year I would ask the young German Erasmus students who taught me so much ( Erasmus: those were the days…) what most surprised them about England. I got some remarkable replies - e.g. red bricks, drainpipes on buildings, carpets in pubs… And from a French student, black faces reading tv news.