5 Ways of Celebrating Easter on a Yacht Charter in Croatia

Celebrate Easter on a yacht charter in Croatia and familiarize yourself with the multitude of traditions that Croatians practice on this holiest of days. Since the majority of Croatians are Catholics, celebrating Easter is a big deal in this country.

If your charter itinerary can handle some historic and unique traditions tied to Easter, why not decide to experience elements of a typical Croatian Easter celebration?

It is more than likely that one or all of your crew members aboard your yacht charter are native Croatians, meaning they will have a good grasp of which elements of Croatian Easter you would enjoy the most. As locals, they will be able to convey only the most interesting Easter traditions.

With a Christian past spanning over a millennium, there are many Easter traditions and customs native only to Croatia. If your charter holiday does coincide with Easter in Croatia, why not introduce yourself to Easter traditions and experience the meaning of Easter festivities in Croatia.

Learn about the rich Croatian Easter cultural heritage during your yacht charter

A yacht charter in Croatia during Easter can offer many unique insights into the culture of this beautiful country. Ask your local charter crew about Croatian Easter traditions which you could experience with the help of your Easter yacht charter.

Learn about interesting local traditions, as you tour Croatian coastal settlements that cherish and protect historic Easter traditions. With your chartered yacht and the help of your knowledgeable local crew, every secret of Easter in Croatia will be unlocked.

Roleplay as a real Croatian and adhere to all the traditions that revolve around this holy day. Witness strange and weird customs, observe pious local people practising ancient rituals and experience the true meaning of Easter on your yacht charter holiday in Croatia.

As you tour these locations, you could learn about the traditions of each place you visit with your Easter yacht charter. Some of the most common Easter traditions in Croatia include picking and bringing twigs of newly-blossomed trees or flowers to church, for them to be blessed for later use in cross processions. This all happens during Holy Week, a period of 7 days before Easter, including Easter day itself.

Dalmatia

In Dalmatia and the Adriatic part of Croatia, olive branches, in combination with rosemary and laurel, replace flowers in the blessing ceremony. It is also not uncommon to braid palm leaves in Dalmatia, which is done in high detail and with great craftsmanship and care. Ask your local crew to show you some examples of palm leaf braiding or find a local who has extensive knowledge of these traditions, with the help from your local SuperYachts Croatian broker.

If you are a churchgoer, you could be surprised by the following: On Holy Week Wednesday, on some Dalmatian islands during mass, according to folk traditions, it is common to see children use sticks to hit benches and floors in churches, so they would „drive Barabas out of the holy ground“. Barabas, of course, was the convict who stood side-by-side with Jesus during his trial in front of Pontius Pilate.

In other parts of Dalmatia, it is customary that on Holy Week Thursday, people tie church bells so they do not ring –thus, the beginning of every mass is signalled by children who make noise with homemade rattles. This tradition is in decline, but you could ask your local crew to acquire a specimen of these homemade rattles, for a special souvenir to remind you of your yacht charter experience in Croatia during Easter.

Dugi Otok island

In Sali, the biggest settlement on Dugi Otok island, it is common that double braided olive branches with a red ribbon are given to girls, and triple-braided olive branches with a blue ribbon are given to boys.

Ask your experienced captain to cruise towards Dugi Otok island, so you could witness firsthand the many interesting Easter traditions this small island community holds. To signal the beginning of summer and the return of warmth, as well as the Son of God, bonfires would also be lit, as part of Easter celebrations on Dugi Otok. Somewhere, fires would be lit in front of churches, where water would be blessed as the flames burned high.

Several settlements on Dugi Otok island, including Sali, would start these fires using only flint and tinder fungus. If you want to be part of the tradition of lighting Easter bonfires, ask your local yacht crew to help. In response, they will arrange front-row seats for this awesome bonfire.

On the other hand, if you want to experience these incredible fires from the main deck of your Easter yacht charter, you could throw a yacht Easter party or simply enjoy the visual experience with your loved ones, together with excellent food and premium champagne.

Istria

In the Istrian peninsula, during the chanting of the Suffering of Our Lord gospel, the men would sit and braid olive branches with a cross in the middle. In preparation for Easter day, before sunset, the men would then take these olive cross patterns and plant them in their vineyards, so that no gail or pestilence would fall upon them.

If you visit Istria with your Easter yacht charter, you could see why this tradition was so important to the locals. Producing some of the best wines in Croatia, the Istrian peninsula is very proud of its long and rich tradition of grape cultivation. Farmers and cultivators spend every waking minute in their vineyards, so they could produce only the most exquisite red and white wine sorts, many of which were awarded in international competitions.

Charter a yacht in Poreč, Rovinj or Pula so you could experience firsthand all the wondrous treasure that the Istrian peninsula offers to guests, especially to those who charter a yacht with a local crew.

Dubrovnik tradition

Since it was common in Dalmatia to gift olive braids to neighbours and guests, in Dubrovnik, once you received the olive patterns, it was tradition to add your hand-made crosses to the craft – these were then called “Mark`s crosses”.

In Konavle, near Dubrovnik, it was also customary that a soon-to-be bride brings a basket full of decorated eggs, so that all male members of the inlaw family receive several, as well as the children. In the past, the number of decorated eggs easily reached a hundred.

Both of these traditions are in rapid decline around the Dubrovnik region, but if you charter a yacht in Dubrovnik, you could ask some of the local crew to show you firsthand how the olive braids were made, as well as demonstrate the proper way of decorating eggs in the style of the Dubrovnik region.

Restaurant in Selca on Brač island

If you decide to charter a yacht near the island of Brač, you will be taken by the quaint tradition of the small town of Selca. In this settlement, it is customary to hold the Easter feast in one of the local restaurants. This event is attended by all the singers of the church choir, as well as altar boys.

Locals gather in large numbers to sing, dance and be merry, while a feast is prepared. A slow-spit-roasted lamb is always the main course, and every visitor and guest is welcomed. This is the ideal opportunity to try an authentic and traditional way of preparing meat, as well as chit-chat with the natives, with the help of your local yacht crew.

Trogir Illumination ceremony

Trogir town had a strong tradition of shutting off the public light system, so the entire town would be illuminated only by candlelight, alongside small wooden boats with their light sources, floating out further out in the sea. If you ask your crew to berth your yacht in Trogir during this time, you could join the “Illumination festival” with the lights coming out from your yacht.

Or, anchor just outside Trogir and enjoy a truly unique atmosphere in a fine dining experience. You could hold your own Illumination ceremony by using floating lanterns, which you can launch from the swimming platform of your yacht charter. Combine this unique experience with underwater LED lights, fireworks or Easter bonfires prepared by your knowledgeable and local crew.

Traditional egg painting, decorating and egg-cracking contests

This custom is globally recognized and is not native to Croatian per se, but there are some elements of egg painting that are specifically tied to Croatia. These include picking certain plants and sticking them onto eggs, then boiling the eggs in the coloured water and removing the plants. Because of the paint and the extra layer of plant material, the profile of the plant becomes „engraved“ into the eggshell– like a negative picture in photography.

Continental Croatia is more accustomed to egg decorating than parts of Istria or Dalmatia. Regardless, there are many different ways of decorating an egg, depending on which Croatian region you take as an example.

Ask your local yacht crew to share ways of decorating eggs; the same way they were thought in their childhood. They could tell you about:
Some of the techniques might incorporate:

• Waxing (using wax to create intricate shapes, that stand to be similar to sculptures)
• Scratching (using a knife or a razor, scratching different motifs on the shell of the egg – this can only be done in two colours, once the egg is painted)
• Glueing (using glue to stick paper, textile or plant material directly onto the shell)
• Embroidery (using fabrics and textiles to create small egg “sacks”)
• Paining (using colours to paint directly onto the eggshell)

After the eggs are properly decorated and you have a sufficient amount of them, hold a competition between your charter guests. Egg cracking contests are customary only in certain parts of the Balkans, from where its inhabitants spread it all over the world.

The contest involves two participants, in which both try to crack the eggshell of the other – the person who manages to crack the egg of the opponent without cracking their own, wins both. This tradition is somewhat similar to splitting the wishing bone of the Thanksgiving turkey, as it is customary in the USA.

Egg cracking contests usually happen around the breakfast table, so the eggs are eaten on the spot and nothing goes to waste, in accordance with the Easter spirit.

Scavenger hunts

Use your yacht as a stage for organising the most fun and exciting scavenger hunt in the world. After some egg painting, let your crew prepare a fun scavenger hunt on the yacht for the children in your charter party. The kids can search for decorated eggs scattered all around the yacht. You can ask your charter crew to go even one step further and involve water toys in the mix, so the kids can try to find stashed eggs on the inflatables or in the seat of the jet ski.

If there are no children involved or your guests are children at heart, a scavenger hunt could be organised on a small and private uninhabited island. Your crew will plant eggs beforehand and let you and your charter party try and find as much as possible. In between hunts, you can enjoy an Easter lunch on the beach, in the shade of pine trees.

Eat a traditional Croatian Easter breakfast on the yacht deck

Ask your chef and crew to procure and prepare all the ingredients for a traditional Croatian Easter breakfast. Every ingredient, food and dish eaten on Easter must be first blessed in church. On Holy Week Saturday, the pious go to early mass so the breakfast they bring back to their families is blessed entirely.

After mass on Saturday, all of Croatia sits down at a rich Easter table to dine in excess and enjoy all of God’s bounties. Traditional food includes boiled ham, hand-made sausages, boiled eggs, sweet traditional pastries, homemade pogača (a local type of Croatian bread), as well as many different types of bread like pinca (a type of sweet bread) or gibanica (a pastry resembling a cross between cheese pie and cheese lasagne). Also to be enjoyed are onions, radishes and fresh, hand-made cheese.

The general attribute of all Easter bread and pastries is that the dough is very rich with eggs, giving it a distinctive yellow colour. In Istria, it is customary to prepare sea bream, gilt-poll, octopus and calamari, with many different kinds of vegetables and boiled potatoes, while in the broader region of Dalmatia, codfish and chickpea pasta are prevalent.

Using all the aforementioned ingredients, your yacht chef will prepare exciting Croatian Easter dishes, but with a Michelin twist, so you too can become part of the Easter tradition in Croatia.

Follow the „Behind the Cross“ procession on Hvar island

There are many cross processions that happen simultaneously during Easter in Croatia, like the one on Korčula island, in the settlement of Blato. But the most famous of all cross processions is the „Za Križem“ (Behind the Cross) procession, which takes place on the island of Hvar. This happens on the night between Holy Week Thursday and Friday.

The Hvar cross procession includes 6 island settlements: Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanje and Vrboska. This means that there are not 1, but 6 simultaneously-happening processions, that are synchronized in a way that one follows the other. Local people gather, pray and sing throughout the night. It is a testament of great piety, as well as honouring a tradition that was not broken for 500 years.

The head of each procession is reserved for the cross-barer, dressed in historic clothing and accompanied by „Romans“ and a life-sized wooden cross, that can weigh as much as 20 kilograms. The Hvar processions last all night, totalling in about 8 hours, during which time the faithful traverse about 22 kilometres.

When the processions reaches the outskirts of the local church, the way is illuminated by lanterns and sponges soaked in oil, then lit; in addition, people light candles and put them on their windows or in front of their houses.

When the column reaches the church building, the mass begins, but with the main altar being bare and uncovered. Fasting is necessary, as well as heavy drinking of red wine, in remembrance of Jesus’s spilled blood.

As mentioned, the Hvar processions is not the only one; there are midnight processions that take place all across the Croatian Adriatic sea, from the mainlands to even the smallest isle. Usually, there are torches and lanterns, song and prayer, crosses and rosemary.

If you want to be a part of this wonderful Easter tradition during your yacht charter holiday, talk to your local crew and book a yacht in Croatia during Easter.

Celebrate Easter on a yacht charter in Croatia

Since celebrating Easter is practised from the very beginning of Christianity, every religious Croatian person truly dedicates themselves to celebrating Easter, in one way or another.
Easter festivities have a special place in every Croat’s heart, and if you charter a yacht, especially if its with a local crew, you will be wholeheartedly introduced to some of the most valuable Easter traditions in Croatia.

There are many traditions that are generally specific to the entire Christian world, but there are other cultural traditions that can be traced back only to Croatia. You could talk to your crew and disembark on land to observe some of the more unusual ways of celebrating Easter in Croatia.

You could embark on a tour of the most beautiful churches in Croatia, any of which will surely have a designated Easter program. If you are not religious or do not care for church-going, let your local crew organize Easter festivities on your yacht. Another option is having your Michelin-level chef prepare a traditional Croatian Easter breakfast, following historic ingredients and traditional recipes, but with a luxury twist.

When it comes to sailing conditions during Easter, the weather is perfect in Croatia. An added plus is that you completely avoid all the summer crowds that appear with the start of the tourist season in early June. Since the Croatian Adriatic sea is relatively calm and quiet, you can enjoy temperatures on land and sea that are nearly as high, as when compared to summer temperatures.

In addition, the sea is calm, except for an occasional spring gust. You can these avoid by sheltering in one of many safe marinas in the Croatian Adriatic. Talk to your local yacht crew or your local SuperYachts Croatia broker for a unique experience of Easter in Croatia.