Holiday Menus: International Easter Cuisine

Traditional foods eaten for Easter vary, but there are many similarities between cultures. For example, nearly every culture incorporates colored Easter eggs, an ancient custom for this time of year. The Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Romans all created colored eggs and exchanged them.

Easter Traditions Around the World

While different cultures embrace different foods and presentations, Easter eggs, lamb, and ham paired with breads, cheeses, fruits and desserts, as well as flowers and plants are all staples of this springtime festival.

• Italy
  Special cakes and pizza are served for dinner. Try Easter Pizza.
  
  
• Poland
  Large buffets are tradition and often contain enough food for the whole of Easter week. Foods include ham, legs of lamb and veal, and sausage.
  
  
• Germanic
  The Moravians (Germanic people from Czechoslovakia who settled in Ohio, Southern Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois in the last century) begin with a breakfast of Moravian Sugar Cakes and coffee. The cakes are made with mashed potatoes which gives the cake a distinctive, moist texture.
  
  
• Russia
  In Russia, Easter is a day of great feasting with roasted pig, sausages, sweet tarts, cheeses, and breads.
  
  
• Swiss
  Create wreath-shaped Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake with an egg embedded in the center, much like a Crown Cake. The custom also exists in Italy, but in bringing it to America the form of the cake has been changed.
  
  
• Greek
  Greks prefer lamb to all other meats for Easter. Pair lamb with assorted breads and red Easter eggs.
  

Other Tips

• An overview of Easter history and traditions can lead to effective marketing and promotional holiday strategies for visual design and menu items. While different cultures embrace distinct customs and foods, there are definitive items and visuals associated with the holiday.
  
  
• Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox that occurs around March 21st. Also known as Vernal Equinox, Ostara, Alban Eiler, and Esther, the spring equinox is second in the trilogy of festivals that celebrate the exact moment when day and night are equal.
  
  
• Easter is most likely derived form the Norse Ostara or Eostre, the Anglo Saxon Goddess of spring who presides over the month of April. Historically, Ostara is symbolically portrayed among flowers and vines, holding an egg in her hand with bunnies, birds, and butterflies in the background.