Germany's best-loved Easter traditions

Germans love painting Easter eggs. The Sorbs, a cultural minority in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, are famous for their art of beautifully decorating eggs with wax. You can learn more about the Slavic minority and their customs at the Spreewald Museum in Lübbenau.

Traditionally, Germans decorate trees or flower bouquets with painted Easter eggs. The Saalfeld Easter Egg Tree takes this custom to a new level: it's decorated with 10,000 handblown and painted Easter eggs. A family from Saalfeld in Thuringia started this tradition in 1965 and now the city keeps it going. Each year, the tree attracts many visitors.

This is a Sorbian custom in the Catholic regions of Upper Lusatia. Men ride through the Sorbian communities on festively adorned horses to spread news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each year, riders traipse through Upper Lusatia as spectators look on.

For many Germans, a walk is a must on Easter. This tradition is at least partially inspired by the iconic poem "Outside the City Gate" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which describes a stroll on an Easter Sunday afternoon.

Hunting for sweets and eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny is the best part of the holiday for many younger Germans. In Weimar, the city organizes an official hunt each year for children.

The custom of going out at Easter in search of eggs and small gifts supposedly hidden by the Easter Bunny has been happening in Germany since the 17th century. Sometimes, the sweets and chocolates are hidden in small rabbit-shaped toys.

It's a tradition almost everywhere in Germany to light an Easter bonfire. The pagan custom, which celebrates the arrival of spring, was adopted by Christians to represent the resurrection of Christ. Here, large Easter bonfires are lit on the banks of the Elbe River in Hamburg.

Originally, it was a pagan custom to send burning wooden wheels down a hill to welcome spring, a variation on the bonfire. Today, the tradition is continued on Easter Sunday in Lügde in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Easter wheels are made of oak and filled with straw.

Each year, thousands gather in the southwestern town of Bensheim to watch a procession that reenacts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This tradition was introduced by migrant workers who came to Germany from southern Italy, and mirrors similar processions in their home country.

The tradition of decorating fountains and wells with Easter eggs began in the early 20th century in Franconia, Bavaria. It is believed that the hilly, picturesque region wanted to attract tourists with a new tradition celebrating water, which is essential for life, and Easter, the celebration of renewed life.