1. Prisoners are released in Spain.
Every year during Holy Week, we hear about the story of Barabbas, the prisoner released by Pontius Pilate at the behest of a crowd that wanted to see Jesus Christ crucified. That tradition of releasing a prisoner once a year is apparently a real thing in Spain. In the province of Malaga, the practice of freeing prisoners during Easter has been happening since 1759. It is said that the tradition began after convicts started a riot during Holy Week and escaped to carry a statue of Jesus in the streets of Malaga and into a nearby church. After the impromptu procession, the prisoners all returned to their cells, which amazed the authorities and started freeing prisoners annually.
2. Guatemalans beat each other up.
Remember when your parents and grandparents said you couldn't get wounds on Good Friday because they will never heal? Well, that superstition seems to have never reached the country of Guatemala as the locals from the town of Chivarreto engage in bare-knuckle boxing fights. There is no definitive statement on how the tradition started but one account says a long-time rivalry of the Chivarreto men with the guys of a neighboring town called Pasajoc could have been the reason for the fights. The reason for the rivalry? The Pasajoc guys would go into Chivarreto and steal their women.
3. Water fights in Hungary.
Monday after Easter in the Philippines is just like any other Monday. But in most parts of Europe, the day after Easter Sunday is still considered a holiday. Take Poland and Hungary for example where men go up to women they like and...splash them with water. The practice is called Śmigus-dyngus or in some parts, Wet Monday. Some say the water represents a good spring harvest while others accounts say it's related to the baptism of old Polish royalty. But the tradition doesn't end with drenching the opposite sex as the men also spank the women with twigs or small branches. The girls in turn have to give the men Easter eggs in what could be considered as the weirdest exchange ever.
4. Crime stories are all the rage in Norway.
If you're the person who likes to read books over the Holy Week break (after watching another re-run of The Ten Commandments, of course) then you'd feel right at home in Norway. In 1923, a pair of authors decided to promote their latest crime novel by publishing an excerpt in the front page of a local paper. People thought it was real and the tradition of reading crime stories during Easter became a thing. It has become so big that during this time, book publishers and TV stations almost exclusively release content classified under the genre of Easter Crime.
5. Women in black veils walk the streets of Italy.
There's a procession in Canosa di Puglia, Italy that looks insanely creepy. Called the procession of Madonna della Vergine Desolata, women walk the streets, their faces covered with a black veil. The scene looks like the perfect set-up for a horror movie but the reason behind the stark imagery is not as sinister as it seems. The procession is held to commemorate how Mother Mary mourned the passing of her Son, Jesus Christ.