Easter is coming, and of course, with it all the preparations for the date, something you may not know yet is: What;s Easter like in Ireland? What are the traditions? Are they similar to those in Brazil?
As many should know, Easter is a very important festival for Christians, it takes place in early spring (in Ireland) and autumn (in Brazil). There is no fixed date for Easter, since it always happens on the first Sunday after the first full moon before the seasons mentioned above start, we only know that it happens between March and April.
It is important to remember that depending on the religion, the date may be celebrated differently from Christianity, but as it is Ireland (country where Christianity is predominant) we will talk about this type of celebration.
Of course, in addition, each family has its own particularities.
Friday of passion In Ireland
Friday of passion, or as “Good Friday” is spoken in English, is similar to Brazil when it comes to the meal, after all, no red meat is consumed on that date in any of the countries, only seafood. . But for some Irishmen it may be that this day is also a quieter day, used to get things up to date, and not so focused on the holiday, unlike the Brazilians, who always celebrate with a big family lunch by eating a special recipe of codfish.
Something interesting when it comes to Ireland, is that before 2018 there was a law where you could not sell or buy drinks anywhere on that date, which meant that people always prepared themselves the day before if they really wanted to drink something in Friday, after all, even if it is a religious date, not everyone follows religion to the letter. It would definitely not be a good date to be a tourist in Ireland at that time, at least not for those who enjoy alcoholic beverages. This is no longer a rule, and the Irish are grateful.
Easter Sunday
Now that we’ve already talked about the Friday of passion, which in Brazil is a very important day, let’s talk about Easter in fact, which takes place on Sunday. On that day, unlike Brazil, in Ireland they make a special dinner, not lunch, which does not mean that we would not eat around the same time, since it is a very early dinner compared to dinners in Brazil, being around from 4 pm, at least for Brazilians who have a late lunch, they know that this time could easily be a Sunday afternoon lunch time. It is interesting because on Sunday the meal in Ireland may already include meats other than fish, while in Brazil more generally speaking, families choose to continue eating seafood, with exceptions.
Lent
In Ireland, depending on the family’s involvement in religion, it may also be that they do Lent without eating sweets for 40 days before the date, and that includes children. In Brazil it also occurs in the same way, since it is a specific tradition of religion, some people choose not to drink alcohol for 40 days, drink coffee, among other things.
Easter eggs
Last and not least, let’s talk about chocolate! Ireland and Brazil have very similar traditions when it comes to Easter Eggs, as in both countries people exchange Easter eggs with each other, especially children.
Eggs are not placed in the supermarket in the same way as in Brazil, where we have a space reserved for those specific items.
Eggs are also different, as many of them do not come with a surprise inside, which is very common in Brazil and also the packaging is different, as in the example above.
It seems that in the end Ireland and Brazil can have a lot in common when it comes to this date, right?
Happy Easter!
