This is not going to be a traditional Easter time, due to the exceptional circumstances, but we will still learn about the origins of Easter and comment on them after the holiday!
Please work on the following questions and be prepared to talk about them on the week of the 13th of April. We will do a videoconference to look at all your answers:
Warmer
What do you know about Easter and the history of Easter?
Activity 1: The
history of Easter
Read through the questions below and see if you know any of
the answers. Then, visit
1. What festival did Easter begin as?
2. When does Easter fall, and what determines its date?
3. What does the name ‘Easter’ come from?
4. What still happens in many European countries on Easter
Sunday?
5. What animals were symbolically linked to the goddess
Eostre?
6. What were the first edible Easter bunnies made from?
Activity 2: The
Easter bunny and other Easter symbols
Scroll through the gallery. Decide whether the following
sentences are true (T) or false (F).
Correct the sentences that are false.
Easter bunny
1. The Easter bunny traditions came from the Bible.
2. The Easter bunny symbolizes fertility and new life.
3. It is derived from an old Danish tradition.
Easter eggs
1. Easter eggs are related to ancient traditions.
2. For early Christians, Easter eggs represented the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3. The Easter colours of the Christian church are yellow,
red and green.
Easter sweets
1. Exchanging chocolate and sweets (candy) first became
popular around 1950.
2. Chocolate eggs have been eaten for two centuries.
3. Jelly beans might have become popular at Easter because
they are shaped like eggs.
Hot cross buns
1. Hot cross buns are sweet, round breads filled with
currants and spices with crosses on
the top.
2. English people believed buns baked on Easter Sunday were
lucky.
3. Hot cross buns are still seen as lucky today.
Activity 3: Easter
around the world
a. You will choose either a country or a group of
countries to research. Consider the questions below, and write a summary in
your own words of what you have read:
1. What unique traditions does the country have?
2. What religious traditions do the people of the country
practise?
3. What do people wear?
4. What do people eat?
5. Are there any special days that are celebrated?
Activity 4: Things
you didn’t know about Easter!
a. How much more do you know about Easter? Complete the
sentences below:
1. ____________________________ appears in several ancient
traditions as a symbol for
____________________________.
2. The traditional pastries eaten on Good Friday in the UK
are known as
____________________________.
3. In Ethiopia, Easter is known as ____________________________,
and people fast from meat and dairy for ____________________________ before
celebrating.
4. In Sweden and areas of Finland, ____________________________
wear shawls and old skirts that are too big for them, and visit people’s houses
to ask for ____________________________.
5. Beginning in the mid-1800s, ____________________________
New Yorkers would parade their riches after leaving church.
6. The first Sunrise Service in America was arranged by
____________________________. The
purpose of the Mass is to remember
____________________________ that Mary found on
Easter morning.
I AM SORRY I CAN´T GIVE YOU EASTER EGGS PERSONALLY!
Have a lovely Easter!
