PROJECT BRITAIN: Why do we have at Easter? At Easter time in the UK we have two bank holidays (public Woodlands Junior School is in the south-east corner of England holidays): and . This means that many families can enjoy a long weekend together. Eggs are a forbidden food during , making

Where does the name 'Easter' come from? them a welcome return to the menu on Easter Day. Pagan traditions give us the English word "Easter" which comes from the word "". The Anglo-Saxon word for April was "Eostre-monath" (the month of openings). However, it should be remembered that Christians Why do we give eggs at Easter? celebrated the resurrection of Christ long before the word "Easter" was used, and the word they used for the celebration was "Pascha", which is derived from and linked to the Jewish festival of . Easter is a Christian festival. For Christians the custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. Christians remember that , after dying According to Bede, the English monastic historian, the English word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon name on the cross, rose from the dead. They believe that, through his for the month of April, which was known as resurrection, Jesus defeated death and sin and offers people the promise "Eostremonath" in the AngloSaxon tongue and since Pascha was most often celebrated of eternal life if they follow his teachings. in Eostremonath, the English Christians began calling it "Easter". Bede also notes that the month was named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess Esostre. What were the f irst Easter eggs like?

Rituals related to the goddess Eostre focus on new beginnings, symbolized by the Easter , and The first eggs given at Easter were birds eggs. These eggs were painted fertility, which is symbolized by the hare (or Easter in bright colours to give them further meaning as a gift. We still paint bunny). bird eggs today but usually only chicken eggs. W hat ar e t he different names for Easter?

A n Angl o -Saxon legend - the In many European languages the name Easter comes from the word Passover. and eggs

Pascha in Greek and Latin, Pasqua in Italian, An Anglo-Saxon legend tells how the Saxon Paques in French, goddess Eostre found a wounded bird and Pascua in Spanish transformed it into a hare, so that it could

What were the first Easter eggs like? survive the Winter. The hare found it could lay eggs, so it decorated these each Spring and left them as offering to the The first eggs given at Easter were birds eggs. These eggs were painted in bright colours to give them further meaning as a gift. We still paint bird eggs goddess. today but usually only chicken eggs. Boiled eggs are traditionally served at breakfast, then Easter cards and gifts Customs may be exchanged.

Roast lamb, which is the main dish at Jewish Passover, is the traditional Origins of Colouring Eggs at Easter meat for the main meal on Easter Day. It is served with mint sauce and Decorating and colouring eggs for Easter was a common vegetables. custom in England in the middle ages. Eggs were brightly coloured to mimic the new, fresh colours of spring. The practice of decorating eggs was made even more famous The traditional Easter pudding is custard tarts sprinkled with currants and by King Edward I of England who ordered 450 eggs to be flat Easter biscuits. gold-leafed and coloured for Easter gifts in 1290. Simnel cake is baked for tea.

Egg rolling

Egg rolling is very popular in England and is an Easter Monday sport. Hard-boiled eggs are rolled down a hill.

Customs differ from place to place. The winner's egg may be the one

that rolls the farthest, survives the most rolls, or is rolled between two pegs. The Simnel cake is a rich fruitcake covered with a thick layer of almond paste (marzipan). A layer of marzipan is also traditionally baked into the middle of the cake.

Easter Eleven balls of marzipan are placed around the top to represent the eleven true disciples (excluding Judas). Originally the simnel cake was a gift to Small chocolate eggs are hidden for the children to find on the traditional mothers on Mothering Sunday in Mid Lent. Easter Egg Hunt. In recent years this game has been linked to the Easter Bunny, which only arrived in England relatively recently. Click here for a recipe for Simnel Cake

Easter Biscuits

Special Food at Easter Easter Biscuits are sometimes called "Cakes", and are eaten on Easter Sunday. They contain spices, currants and sometimes grated lemon rind. After the lean months of winter and the fast weeks of Lent, food at Easter was always a special treat.

Easter day, like Christmas day, is also associated with special food.