As I walk through the aisles of Albert Heijn, there seem to be more shelves stocked with products dedicated to Ramadan than to the upcoming Easter celebrations. As I understand, the Netherlands is not a predominantly Catholic country, but the two largest religious groups here are Catholics and Protestants – both of whom celebrate Easter. So I would have expected a bit of a marketing desecration, with colourful chocolate bunnies on every other shelf. But then I remember that I no longer live in Poland, where Easter is actually a big deal – and I’m not talking about deals on the aforementioned chocolates.
I am very happy that Easter this year falls right after my exams, during a week-long break between the end of one academic period and the beginning of the final period of my bachelor’s studies. My tickets to Poland are already booked, and I will finally be able to have Easter breakfast with my family. I usually spend this day studying for exams and FaceTiming with my mum. It’s terrible, and I could never understand how anyone could be expected to prepare for exams on a day like that.
Let’s start with the fact that, for Catholics, Easter is more important than Christmas. It celebrates the culmination of salvation through the Resurrection of Jesus. In Poland, it is common to take part in a small “pilgrimage”: the Stations of the Cross, consisting of fourteen stops commemorating Christ’s journey to crucifixion. And as Polish people are obsessed with cleaning, the whole house must be spotless before Easter – windows included, because Jesus might die again if he saw they were dirty. A week before Easter, the faithful attend Mass with colourful “Easter palms” made to commemorate Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem (check them out, they can be really beautiful!). Holy Week starts with intensive soup-making, baking babas and decorating eggs by dyeing them in onion skins, for example. The central element of the preparations is święconka: a basket filled with eggs, bread, sausage, salt and a lamb made of butter or sugar. Covered with a napkin, it is taken to church on Holy Saturday to be blessed. On Easter Sunday, the contents of the basket are eaten.
You won’t find any Easter eggs in this text, though. Happy Easter!
Rita Wiśniewska, a third-year European Law student