Lutheran Easter

Easter eggs, like Easter rabbits, are of various colors.Easter in Norway is dominated by Easter chickens. Easter eggs, like Easter rabbits, are of various colors. Yellow chickens are everywhere during Easter. Painted chickens, plastic chickens, cotton chickens, chickens made from all kinds of materials can be seen in private homes, windows, newspapers and magazines, on plastic bags and on television. It is not surprising that yellow became the color of Easter in Norway.

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays in Norway. Students, however, have 6 days of Easter holidays (not including weekends). Norwegians generally do not pay much attention to the religious aspect of Easter. Of course they know the history, but only a few will go to church services. There are more than usual religious TV programs at Easter, but there's another genre that dominates far more: detective series.

No one knows why, but Easter in Norway is considered a good time to read or watch a new series of detective novels. All Norwegian TV stations have at least one detective film on their Easter programme. A number of Easter books are based on the plot of the Easter crime.

For most Norwegians, Easter weekends are associated with a trip to the mountains. Since there is a real opportunity, not only to ski, but also to sunbathe. Being away from the city and enjoying the snow and sunshine is how Easter Days pass in Norway.

Usually, daffodils begin to bloom at Easter, which is why in Norway they were called "Påskeliljer" (Easter Lily).