Easter again

[Marcela]

Okay, I have already asked some questions about Easter but it was only about our Polish traditions which appeared not to be known in America:) Now I would like you to tell me something about your Easter.
How long does this holiday last?
What do you do on each day of it?
Do you have the same typical symbols of Easter like rabbit(or hare? I don't know if it's "królik" or "zaj¹c" ), egg and chicken?
Is there something typical you eat then?

[KenWalsh]

We have our share of Easter customs here in America. I'm not an authority on the traditions/ceremonies, but I'll try to answer the questions.

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and Paczke Day are just a few of the celebrations of excess before Ash Wednesday. The largest American Mardi Gras celebrations take place in New Orleans.

Ash Wednesday is now celebrated not only by Catholics but by some Protestant religions as well. The Lenten period is a time for self-reflection.

To introduce Holy Week, American Catholics often begin outside the church on Palm Sunday with a blessing of the palms and a procession into the church. The Passion is read as the Gospel.

On Thursday churches sometimes celebrate the Last Supper, and the priests will wash the feet of the congregants.

Good Friday is a holiday in many but not all parts of the United States. The Passion is read again, and many Catholics follow the Signs of the Cross.

Children celebrate Easter with baskets of treats (delivered by the Easter Bunny [rabbit--few hares live in the United States]), Easter egg rolls, Easter egg hunts, and decorating eggs. I believe that traditional dinners are centered on lamb with mint jelly or ham.

[Jennifer Malloy]

One quick thing to add to Ken's very good explanation: Catholics in the U.S. frequently abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, eating fish instead.

Also, children frequently go on Easter egg hunts, in which plastic or real hard-boiled colored eggs are hidden outside and there are prizes for the most eggs found, etc. I used to have one in my parent's backyard every year for my niece and nephews in which I'd put coins inside the plastic eggs for them to find. They thought it was the most fun, and my niece even partisloneczkoted with her brothers until she was well into being a teenager (though this activity is traditionally geared toward smaller children up to age 10 or so).