German Traditions and Recipes for Easter - Part 4, Easter Sunday
So, here is part 4 of my little series about a traditional German Easter and it is all about Easter Sunday today, the biggest and most exciting day of the whole Easter festivities.
Let me talk about two important symbols in relation to Easter and especially Easter Sunday first, that is the Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg.
The Easter Bunny was originally actually an Easter Hare in Germany.
Only recently, since the whole Easter festivities became more commercialized the Easter Hare turned into an Easter Bunny, most likely because a fluffy Bunny is simply cuter and more "loveable" than the old skinny European Hare with its long legs.
As long as there are written records about Easter, it has always been the Easter Hare that brought the colored Easter eggs and hid them all around the house and the garden for the children to search for.
However, in some regions in Germany and also in Switzerland it was the Cuckoo (Switzerland), the Fox (Westphalia), or the Stork (Thuringia), that brought the Easter Eggs.
What is always the same, seems to be that for some unknown reason it was important, that it was not the most likely chicken, that left the eggs for us.
Why that is will probably always remain a secret.
The first record about Easter Hare and Easter Eggs that we know of, was found in an old medical book from 1682, written by a medical professor with the name Georg Frank von Frankenau.
He gives an insight into the old tradition of Easter Hare and Eggs and warns of the health risks, when eating to many eggs at once.
Today we know exactly about the amount of cholesterol in eggs, so that we can confirm that this Professor certainly knew what he was talking about.
There are many theories on how the Easter Bunny (or hare) and the Easter Eggs made its way into our Easter festivities.
The most plausible explanation in my view is that this tradition stems from pre-Christian spring festivals.
The word "Easter" or "Ostern" in German, is revealingly similar to the name of the old German Spring-Goddess "Ostara" or "Eostre" in English.
The symbols for this Goddess were (you guessed it) a Hare and an Egg.
So in my opinion it is pretty clear, that the origin of Hare and Egg in relation to Easter, is found in pagan times.
So what is happening in German families on this exciting day that is Easter Sunday.
Most people would get up very early in the morning and hide some colored eggs (real and of course chocolate eggs) in the garden and/or around the house for the children to search for, after getting out of bed.
Similar to the mysteries around Santa Claus, younger children would be left in the believe that it was indeed the Easter Bunny that left the eggs there.
Older Children would of course be aware that it was in truth their parents that hid the eggs, but still get lots of fun out of searching for these little treasures.
If you are planning to do such an egg hunt using real eggs with your kids yourself, just make sure you remember where you left the eggs, as if they were not found by the kids and they are in a corner that remains neglected for a couple of weeks, it can result in a very unpleasant smell.
After the egg hunt, the whole family comes together (often including extended family) and have a large breakfast, where the "Osterzopf" (sweet, braided yeast loaf) that we talked about yesterday and the eggs left by the Easter Bunny, play a central role.
Next up is Dinner and it is of course lamb that is mainly served on this day.
I am from Bavaria myself and most of the recipes I share with you here, are from Bavaria or other parts of Southern Germany.
For a change, I would like to share a recipe for lamb with you today, that originates in the very north of Germany, in Frisia.
It goes as follows: Ingredients: 2.
5 lbs.
lamb 17 oz.
white beans 3 onions 4 carrots 4 tomatoes 1 garlic clove 1 bunch parsley (finely chopped) 1 cup cream 1 cup vegetable broth 2 bay leaves salt pepper allspice vegetable or sunflower oil Wash and dry the meat and remove any extensive fat.
Rub with salt and pepper all around.
Slice the clove of garlic and stud the meat in different places with the garlic slices.
Place in a preheated oven and roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for appr.
2 - 2.
5 hours.
In the meantime, wash and peel the onions, slice two of them and leave one whole.
Wash peel and slice the carrots.
In a saucepan, heat some vegetable or sunflower oil and sauté the onion slices until glassy.
Add the carrot slices and beans and while stirring thoroughly add the vegetable broth slowly.
Let simmer for 4 - 5 minutes and then add salt, pepper and allspice.
Stud the onion, that you left whole with the bay leaves and bury in the vegetables.
Let simmer for 20 minutes.
In the meantime cut the tomatoes into small dices.
Add them together with the cream into the saucepan, stir and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
When the lamb is ready, take out of the oven, and let rest for appr.
10 - 15 minutes before carving.
In the meantime, scratch up the lambs juices in the roasting tray and add to the vegetable mixture.
Stir and place the vegetable mixture on a large dish, carve the meat and place nicely on top of the vegetables.
Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve with boiled or roast potatoes.
Tomorrow, I would like to tell you a bit more about the happenings on Easter Sunday and Monday.
So please look out for part 5 tomorrow.
Let me talk about two important symbols in relation to Easter and especially Easter Sunday first, that is the Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg.
The Easter Bunny was originally actually an Easter Hare in Germany.
Only recently, since the whole Easter festivities became more commercialized the Easter Hare turned into an Easter Bunny, most likely because a fluffy Bunny is simply cuter and more "loveable" than the old skinny European Hare with its long legs.
As long as there are written records about Easter, it has always been the Easter Hare that brought the colored Easter eggs and hid them all around the house and the garden for the children to search for.
However, in some regions in Germany and also in Switzerland it was the Cuckoo (Switzerland), the Fox (Westphalia), or the Stork (Thuringia), that brought the Easter Eggs.
What is always the same, seems to be that for some unknown reason it was important, that it was not the most likely chicken, that left the eggs for us.
Why that is will probably always remain a secret.
The first record about Easter Hare and Easter Eggs that we know of, was found in an old medical book from 1682, written by a medical professor with the name Georg Frank von Frankenau.
He gives an insight into the old tradition of Easter Hare and Eggs and warns of the health risks, when eating to many eggs at once.
Today we know exactly about the amount of cholesterol in eggs, so that we can confirm that this Professor certainly knew what he was talking about.
There are many theories on how the Easter Bunny (or hare) and the Easter Eggs made its way into our Easter festivities.
The most plausible explanation in my view is that this tradition stems from pre-Christian spring festivals.
The word "Easter" or "Ostern" in German, is revealingly similar to the name of the old German Spring-Goddess "Ostara" or "Eostre" in English.
The symbols for this Goddess were (you guessed it) a Hare and an Egg.
So in my opinion it is pretty clear, that the origin of Hare and Egg in relation to Easter, is found in pagan times.
So what is happening in German families on this exciting day that is Easter Sunday.
Most people would get up very early in the morning and hide some colored eggs (real and of course chocolate eggs) in the garden and/or around the house for the children to search for, after getting out of bed.
Similar to the mysteries around Santa Claus, younger children would be left in the believe that it was indeed the Easter Bunny that left the eggs there.
Older Children would of course be aware that it was in truth their parents that hid the eggs, but still get lots of fun out of searching for these little treasures.
If you are planning to do such an egg hunt using real eggs with your kids yourself, just make sure you remember where you left the eggs, as if they were not found by the kids and they are in a corner that remains neglected for a couple of weeks, it can result in a very unpleasant smell.
After the egg hunt, the whole family comes together (often including extended family) and have a large breakfast, where the "Osterzopf" (sweet, braided yeast loaf) that we talked about yesterday and the eggs left by the Easter Bunny, play a central role.
Next up is Dinner and it is of course lamb that is mainly served on this day.
I am from Bavaria myself and most of the recipes I share with you here, are from Bavaria or other parts of Southern Germany.
For a change, I would like to share a recipe for lamb with you today, that originates in the very north of Germany, in Frisia.
It goes as follows: Ingredients: 2.
5 lbs.
lamb 17 oz.
white beans 3 onions 4 carrots 4 tomatoes 1 garlic clove 1 bunch parsley (finely chopped) 1 cup cream 1 cup vegetable broth 2 bay leaves salt pepper allspice vegetable or sunflower oil Wash and dry the meat and remove any extensive fat.
Rub with salt and pepper all around.
Slice the clove of garlic and stud the meat in different places with the garlic slices.
Place in a preheated oven and roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for appr.
2 - 2.
5 hours.
In the meantime, wash and peel the onions, slice two of them and leave one whole.
Wash peel and slice the carrots.
In a saucepan, heat some vegetable or sunflower oil and sauté the onion slices until glassy.
Add the carrot slices and beans and while stirring thoroughly add the vegetable broth slowly.
Let simmer for 4 - 5 minutes and then add salt, pepper and allspice.
Stud the onion, that you left whole with the bay leaves and bury in the vegetables.
Let simmer for 20 minutes.
In the meantime cut the tomatoes into small dices.
Add them together with the cream into the saucepan, stir and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
When the lamb is ready, take out of the oven, and let rest for appr.
10 - 15 minutes before carving.
In the meantime, scratch up the lambs juices in the roasting tray and add to the vegetable mixture.
Stir and place the vegetable mixture on a large dish, carve the meat and place nicely on top of the vegetables.
Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve with boiled or roast potatoes.
Tomorrow, I would like to tell you a bit more about the happenings on Easter Sunday and Monday.
So please look out for part 5 tomorrow.
