It may be the most common tradition for us here in the US, but if you think about it, that doesn’t make the practice of hiding painted eggs around the

yard and letting kids find them any less weird.

The tradition is believed to have started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 1700s, who believed in a proto-Easter bunny called Osterhase. Kids were encouraged to build nests

for Osterhare to lay his eggs in and to go looking for them, which eventually became hunting for plastic eggs filled with candy.

Even weirder than looking for candy-filled eggs is rolling real ones down a steep hill with a big spoon. Like...why???

Some think that the game has no religious significance, while others say it symbolizes the rolling away of the stone that blocked the tomb of Jesus.

In France, bunnies don’t bring chocolate...flying bells do.

Catholic church bells go silent in France on the Thursday before Easter and don’t ring again until Sunday because they all fly away to visit the Pope in Rome,

then they go buy chocolate bells and bring them back for everyone.

In Florence, Italy, people take to the street to witness a massive fireworks display from the top of a wagon built in 1622.

The tradition is called “scoppio del carro” and is said to be for a Florentine who was a part of the First Crusade in the Holy Land in 1099.

Young Pazzini was the first to raise the Christian banner after scaling the walls of Jerusalem and was gifted three flints from the Holy Sepulchre for his courage.

In Germany, people congregate to watch massive fires burn through the night and extinguish them on Easter morning.

Called Osterfeuer, the old tradition is supposed to symbolize the arrival of Spring and banish evil spirits.

In Poland, there is a tradition called Smigus Dyngus where young men throw water on girls and spank them with branches.

The tradition is also known as Wet Monday, and girls can avoid being drenched by giving boys painted eggs. It might have origins in early Poland Christianity and baptism, or

it could be from pagan mythology...either way it’s weird.

In parts of Mexico and in other Catholic Christian communities, effigies of Judas are burned around Easter time for reasons that should be obvious.

However, the figures are not always made to look like Judas, and sometimes they are filled with fireworks, hanged, and exploded.

A Morris dance is an English folk dance. This tradition involves choreography, traditional costumes with bells around the ankles, and inflated pig bladders on a stick.

Some perform the English folk tradition while wearing blackface to symbolize the Moorish people, but a lot of people see that as problematic.

In Corfu, Greece at 11am on Easter Saturday, the streets echo with the sound of clay pots being thrown from windows and shattering on the ground below.

The tradition started with the Venetians, who would throw old belongings out of the window on New Years in hopes of getting new things in the new year.

We guess that makes sense...?

This sounds like way more fun than dyeing eggs (or dying eggs!): Norwegians watch and read crime and mystery stories on Easter for a tradition called Påskekrims.

The tradition goes back to the 1920s when two Norwegian authors advertised their train robbery story like a real news article in the local newspaper. Fake news for

your Easter basket!

If you move to Finland and find witches on your doorstep on Easter, don’t worry — your calendar is fine.

“This Finnish children’s custom interestingly mixes two older traditions – a Russian Orthodox ritual where birch twigs originally represented the palms laid down when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday;

and a Swedish and Western Finnish tradition in which children made fun of earlier fears that evil witches could be about on Easter Saturday,” says Reeli Karimäki of

the Pessi Children’s Art Centre in Vantaa.

In some regions of the Philippines, men whip themselves bloody and are sometimes tied to actual crosses.

The practice is apparently frowned upon by the Church and only happens in a few small provinces.

In Papua New Guinea, trees are decorated with packets of tobacco and cigarettes which are passed out at church on Easter.

The tradition apparently started because it is too hot to trade chocolates, so they had to use what was available.

In the Andalusia region of Spain, penitents walk in parades behind floats, often with their feet shackled and their faces covered by hooded masks.

The Holy Week tradition (the week leading up to Easter) has been going on for hundreds of years and has become a major tourist attraction.

In Polish and Slovenian Catholic families (especially in Buffalo, NY), butter lambs are a common sight at Easter dinners.

The lamb is said to represent the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. They often have peppercorn eyes and a little red flag that says "Alleluia."

Will you be incorporating any of these interesting traditions into your Easter celebration?