What is Easter?
Easter is a very important festival in the Christian religion, and many Christians go to church at this time. Easter also celebrates the arrival of spring, and we see lots of things that make us think of new life, for example eggs, chicks, flowers and rabbits.
When do people celebrate Easter?
The dates of Easter change from year to year, but it’s usually sometime between the end of March and the end of April. In some countries, people have holidays from school and work, and they often spend time with family and friends.
Easter eggs
Eggs are a big part of Easter celebrations! Many people paint chicken eggs and decorate them with bright colours, and a lot of children receive chocolate eggs as presents. There are many different Easter egg traditions around the world.
In the UK, as well as many other countries, children have fun taking part in Easter egg hunts. They look for chocolate eggs in parks and gardens. The eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny!
In some places, people have egg-rolling competitions. People boil eggs to make them hard, then they paint them. You have to roll your egg down a hill and not break it!
In some parts of Mexico, people fill empty eggs with confetti. When you break the egg over someone’s head, the colourful shower of confetti is supposed to bring them good luck.
Other Easter traditions
In Sweden and Finland, children dress up as ‘Easter witches’. They put on costumes and go to their neighbours’ houses and give them Easter greetings. The neighbours give them sweets or chocolate in return.
In the USA, the UK and Australia, many schoolchildren make special hats called ‘Easter bonnets’ at Easter time. They decorate a hat with flowers, eggs and other colourful things. They wear their hats and walk around, and there is often a prize for the best hat.
In Bermuda, two days before Easter Sunday, on Good Friday, children and adults fly kites. Some people buy their kites, and others make the kites themselves.
Happy Easter!
People celebrate Easter in lots of different ways around the world. Some of the traditions are religious, others celebrate spring and many are about having fun and eating chocolate eggs! Happy Easter!
