Easter customs and other springtime traditions

A festive Sunday in the fourth week of Lent but with church attendance, parades and a lot of colourful gingerbread hearts that are given away in large numbers with meaningful sayings written on them in icing. These “Liebstattherzen” are a UNESCO “intangible cultural heritage” and are said to help counteract all types of pain.

From the end of March, it’s traditional to head out “in die Grean” – into the green – in the Weinviertal wine region near Vienna. In this, the home of the Grüner Veltliner, the vintner guides you through the vineyard, where you can sample a few glasses while enjoying a hearty snack and talking shop. Naturally about wine. And the approaching spring. A UNESCO intangible cultural heritage since 2019!

In some places, whips are laid out in the days before Easter: cracking the whips is an old custom signalling the start of the grazing season. In addition, the Easter bonfires light up the still cool, dark nights throughout Austria in the valleys and the mountains, and when the church bells fall silent (having flown to Rome), the “ratchet children” assume the job of calling the faithful to church services, walking through the towns and villages making noise with their ratchets.