Apr 20, 2014

Osterfeuer (Easter Fire) 2014

Osterfeuer2

First and foremost, HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

The epic Easter egg hunt goes down tomorrow, so today I'm sharing with you all a tradition typically celebrated at nightfall on Easter Saturday here in Germany. While biking through the countryside yesterday (about 10km west of Braunschweig), I'd noticed huge billowing wisps of smoke in the air, and not just one, but several. After deciding to investigate the one producing the most amount of smoke, I found out what an Osterfeuer was.

Since I spent last Easter back home, I'd never really heard about nor experienced this tradition. Turns out it's celebrated for several reasons. Going way back to pre-Christian times, it symbolizes the act of leaving winter behind. For the Church, the light symbolizes Christ himself. But honestly now, isn't it just a reason for friends and families to get together over some good food and drink before the holiest day of the year? See the clusters of people in the photo above? Yeah all those peeps are lining up in front of a beer/currywurst truck. Mo' fyyyyaaaaaa.

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