Anna shared a little about Easter (and Passover and Earth Day) on Friday, but I thought I’d offer up a few more interesting Easter facts today.

• In Sweden, girls (and sometimes boys) dress as witches and go door to door on the Thursday and Saturday before Easter. They bring along copper kettles or coffeepots and are given gifts of candy or money.
• Russians enjoy a sweet, creamy cheese called pashka on Easter. They also eat kulich, a tall cake filled with fruit and nuts.
• Christian children in Egypt have egg-rolling contests on Easter. Each child sends an egg rolling down a hill, and the egg that reaches the bottom first is the winner.

These all come from Easter around the World by Shannon Knudsen, illustrated by David L. Erickson. The book includes many more fascinating Easter traditions, including those in the Philippines, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, and Ethiopia.