Easter

We eat hot cross buns at Easter.

Some children think the Easter Bunny brings Easter eggs.

Some children think the Easter Bilby brings Easter eggs.

Some people dye real eggs at Easter.

People go to church at Easter.

Christians believe that Easter is the time that Jesus died on a Friday and came alive again a few days later on Sunday. It is an important time, so people go to church. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the full moon that is seen after 21^st March. This means the date of Easter Sunday is different each year.

In the northern half of the world, Easter comes at the beginning of spring, so rabbits, chicks and eggs celebrate new life.  Eggs are decorated in the colours of spring flowers and new leaves. These days the eggs are now chocolate and the colours are on the paper that is wrapped around them, but some people still dye real eggs in bright colours.

In Greece hardboiled eggs are dyed red, the colour of Jesus’ blood. People hold an egg with three fingers, and tap their egg against someone else’s egg , trying to break it. In some countries eggs are dyed in amazing patterns. Long ago, the King of Russia had an egg made of gold and precious jewels each year, sometimes with a little treasure inside.

An Australian bilby: some people say the Easter Bilby brings Easter eggs.

In many countries the Easter Bunny is thought to bring chocolate eggs. Rabbits were brought to Australia over two hundred years ago, and have since become pests. Rabbits in the wild have meant some native animals struggle to survive. For this reason, many Australians talk about the Easter Bilby rather than the Easter Bunny. A bilby is a small animal with big ears but it is an Australian animal. Bilbies are endangered, partly because of rabbits taking over the places where they live.

In different countries there are special foods eaten at Easter.

Hot Cross Buns are eaten in many places in the world at Easter time. The buns are full of dried fruit and are marked with a cross on top. Before the time of Jesus, the cross meant the four quarters of the moon.  Christians decided the cross could also mean the cross where Jesus died so the buns became an Easter food.

In England, a simnel cake is made for Easter. It is a fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan, which is a paste of ground almonds. Jesus had 12 apostles, or companions, but only 11 were good. On a simnel cake there are 11 marzipan balls on top, one for each of the good apostles.

In Greece, roast lamb is eaten on Easter Sunday. Also served is an Easter bread called tsoureki, with red dyed boiled eggs pressed into it. An Easter cake is made with oranges and almonds, with a spicy orange syrup poured over. Special shortbread biscuits are also made.

In Italy people make a cake called la colomba, which means it is shaped like a dove.

Russian kulich

In Russia and countries nearby, a cream cheese called pashka is served with a sweet bread called kulich. Pashka is made in a pyramid shape and tastes a bit like cheesecake.  People spread pashka onto slices of kulich.

Go here to see a picture and find a recipe for pashka:
http://hubpages.com/hub/MAKING-RUSSIAN-PASHKA-IN-A-GARDEN-POT

Go here for Easter games and activities:
http://holidays.kaboose.com/spring/easter.html

If you use any part of this in your own work, acknowledge the source in your bibliography like this:

Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. Easter [online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2010)

Updated May 2010 ©kidcyber

A Russian jewelled Easter egg with a tiny treasure inside