Celebrate with the German Club at the Easter Bonfire on Friday, April 1, from 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the bonfire pit at the P11 parking lot. Students can learn about German culture while participating in an Easter egg hunt — where they can win t-shirts, tote bags and German chocolate. German music will be played while food, snacks and beverages will be provided. This event is open to all students.

President of the German Club Johanna Vorrath-Lopatin moved to the United States from Germany in 2019. She mentions the Easter Bonfire is a tradition that Germans partake in that the club wanted to bring to OU students.

“We’re doing the Easter Bonfire because in Germany normally, especially when you live in the countryside, all the farmers gather all the broken wood they’ve accumulated over the winter. They put it in a big pile, and then everyone comes for an Easter bonfire,” Vorrath-Lopatin said.“Essentially, that’s how we celebrate Easter or the start into the spring, so we wanted to do something similar.”

Participants can learn some German sayings and what they might do on Easter. Vorrath-Lopatin also mentions they have what is called Easter Monday in Germany — a relaxing day for most Germans.

“We’re going to teach them a couple of German sayings for Easter and what they might do on Easter themselves,” Vorrath-Lopatin said. “In Germany, Easter Monday, you have off — it’s like a countrywide holiday. So, it’s usually a big thing that people get an extra day off of school, and they will spend it together with their friends outside.”

This Easter Bonfire event offers a break so students can relax before the start of finals. Vorrath-Lopatin states she enjoys presenting German culture to students as there are similarities between American and German traditions.

“I think we’ve all been feeling how long this semester currently is,” she said. “I always enjoy just presenting German culture to [students] because I think so many American traditions are related to the German traditions, especially around Rochester, where there’s such a big German community.”

Vorrath-Lopatin hopes students can gain some cultural insight that can lead to conversations on what is happening in Europe. She also highlights that even though America and Germany are far apart, they are alike in many ways.

For additional information on the German Club and their future events, visit their GrizzOrgs page.