Jerusalem

Celebrating the greatest events of Catholic salvation history and of Jesus’s life at the very sites where they occurred is a moving and unforgettable experience for believers.

During the end of Lent, Jerusalem fills with pilgrims from all over the world. For Orthodox and Catholic Christians, celebrations focus on the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where six historic denominations have marked the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus since the fourth century.

Holy Week officially begins with the celebration of Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (April 13 this year), with morning Mass at the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the traditional palm procession in the afternoon.

On Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and in the afternoon, the Franciscans make their traditional journey to Mount Zion.

In the evening, pilgrims spend a meditative Holy Hour in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed by a candlelight procession to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu.

On Good Friday at 8am the Lord’s Passion and crucifixion are remembered at Calvary, followed by the Stations of the Cross led by the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land.

Christ’s funeral is celebrated at the Sepulchre in the evening, an event unique to the Church of Jerusalem, re-enacting the deposition of Christ’s body into the tomb.

The climax of the week is the much-anti-cipated great Easter vigil, held on Saturday morning in the Basilica of the Resurrection.

There is Mass on Easter Sunday, and processions throughout the day.

Italy

For something a little more close to home, both geographically and culturally, visit Italy this Easter. As with many Catholic countries, many solemn processions are held in towns on Good Friday and statues are paraded through the city or displayed in the main square.

The oldest Good Friday procession in Italy is supposedly in Chieti in Abruzzo. One hundred violinists play a moving rendition of Saverio Selecchi’s Miserere.

If you go to Sicily, watch the impressive procession of more than 2,000 friars dressed in ancient costumes walking through the streets of Enna. And in Trapani, the dramatic Good Friday procession Misteri di Trapani is 24 hours long.

In 2012 Argentina produced the world’s largest chocolate egg, which weighed four tons and was more than 27 feet high

The biggest and most popular Mass is, of course, held by the Pope at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. On Good Friday, the Pope celebrates the Via Crucis near the Colosseum. A huge cross with burning torches lights the sky as the Stations of the Cross are described in several languages. At the end, the Pope gives a blessing.

Easter Monday (La Pasquetta) is a holiday throughout Italy and a time for people to gather and have fun. Head to the Umbrian hill town of Panicale for a cheesy show, literally.

Players of Ruzzolone roll huge wheels of cheese, weighing about four kilos, around the village walls, trying to do so in as few strokes as possible. Following the arduous cheese-rolling contest, enjoy the music of a band in the piazza and a few glasses of wine.

Sweden

Contrary to the solemnity that takes over many cities in the lead up to Easter Sunday, Easter traditions in Sweden take a humorous approach.

Children dress up as good witches (påskkärringar) on Easter Saturday and hand out letters and cards in return for eggs, sweets and coins.

In some parts of Sweden, bonfires are an important part of the tradition. Some say they are to scare off the evil influences of Easter hags and their journey to Blåkulla.

Indeed, food is vital and Easter (Påsk, pronounced ‘pohsk’) in Sweden is all about sweets and of course a smörgåsbord at lunch time.

On Easter Sunday, in true Nordic style, the feast consists primarily of fish such as different kinds of herring, a selection of smoked salmon, a hint of roast ham and various cheeses.

Eggs are exchanged and later used in a game where participants roll them down roof tiles to see which egg can go the furthest without breaking.

Argentina

Easter in Argentina is primarily a religious celebration and although the Easter Bunny is not the celebrity it is in Europe, the country is heavy on tradition.

One of the highlights during the Semana Santa is a pilgrimage made by thousands of Argentines to the city of Tandil. They go here to follow the Via Crucis, which is made of 14 stone sculptures representing the Way of the Cross.

The Argentinians are big on their Easter eggs – quite literally for in 2012 the country produced the world’s largest chocolate egg that weighed four tons and was more than 27 feet high.

On Easter Sunday, the Argentinians consume and share eggs and a special Easter cake, Rosca de Pascua, a sweet, brioche-like bread shaped in a ring and decorated with pastry cream, nuts, fruits, and even chocolate eggs. Yum.

According to tradition, people exchange eggs not only with their family but with friends and colleagues.

Yet the religious aspect remains key and the day culminates in Mass followed by a huge family event with copious amounts of food.

You can join in the celebrations by taking part in a treasure hunt organised by the local governments in the main cities.

Easter Island

Now, if all these festivities are too much for you, why not nip off to Easter Island?

Admittedly, peace and quiet come at quite a cost, especially since you are aiming for an island more than 2,000 miles off the Chilean coast in the South Pacific.

This is one of the most isolated places on earth. For information, the easiest way to get there is by air from Santiago or Tahiti.

But it is precisely the difficulty in accessing this island that has helped preserve the 1,500-year-old mysterious moai statues.

The enigmatic stone blocks, carved into head-and-torso figures, are around four metres high and weigh a whopping 14 tons.

One can only imagine the effort needed to build these structures and move them around the island, but no one really knows why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task.

Once you have explored the unique landscape, surf at the shallow bay at Pea Beach near Hangaroa’s town centre or mount a horse to experience one of the most mysterious places on earth on horseback.

Malta and Gozo

If you cannot travel too far this Easter, why not be a tourist and tour the equally impressive homegrown celebrations in Malta and Gozo.

There is no shortage of processions in Holy Week. On the evening of Maundy Thursday, join the rest of the faithful in all or some of the ‘seven visits’ to seven different churches, to pay homage to the Altars of Repose.

To avoid having to drive around too much, why not go to Valletta where you have more than 25 churches to choose from. Many streets will be lined with candles to help get you into a contemplative mood.

On Good Friday head to one of the many sombre but dramatic processions showing the Passion of the Christ. Of the 14 processions in Malta, and seven in Gozo, one of my favourites is in Mosta, which culminates on the parvis of the impressive domed church. Three other special processions are those in Vittoriosa and in Victoria and Żebbuġ, in Gozo where the statues are dressed in fabric clothing.

Let the ringing bells announcing the Resurrection of Christ get you up extra early on Sunday morning and go and watch one of the processions with the statue of the Risen Christ while a band plays upbeat marches.

In some villages like Cospicua people even run with the statue of the Risen Christ, holding it in their arms rather than on their shoulders, as is the norm, in order to be able to run better.

And of course, don’t forget to bite into a delicious figolla!