Looking for something creative to do over Easter, which does not involve consuming tons of chocolate? Why not make an Osterstrauch, or Easter Tree, a German tradition that families make together at Easter time.
Making your own Osterstrauch is easy...
- First, gather some branches from your garden. We've used cornus and berberis, but traditionally, beautiful bright yellow forsythia is used. Make sure you have a sturdy vase to use, weighed down with some pebbles to keep the branches upright.
- Next, start painting your eggs with bright colours and patterns. Why not use spring time colours and themes as inspiration? You can use real, blown-out eggs, or ping pong balls work well too. Did you know that you can even create natural dye to paint your eggs using common fruits and vegetables? Try blueberries for blue, saffron for yellow, beetroot for pink and spinach for green.
- Finally, attach a length of ribbon to your eggs using a needle to hang them from the branches of your tree. Voilà - you have a beautiful tree to celebrate Easter.
The tradition of making an Easter Tree originated in Germany and Easter Tree's are now by people all over the world. German couple Christa and Volker Kraft became famous for their tree, which they started decorating in 1965 with just 18 egg ornaments. Before they retired the tradition in 2015, their tree grew to include over 10,000 uniquely decorated Easter eggs, which supposedly took the couple two weeks to hang!
We’d love to see the Osterstrauch you’ve made over the holidays, if you’d like to share, send your photos to [email protected]
Have fun and Happy Easter! Viel spaß and Frohe Ostern!
