Easter in England
Easter is commemorated in England every spring. This tradition goes back to the pagan celebrations of the arrival other spring after a long winter. Every year Easter has the other date, so it is a movable holiday.
The last chance for fun is Pancake day. Then people eat pancakes and take part in different contests, for example: women run with frying pans and toss pancakes at the same time.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Then people go to the church and priests sprinkle ash on people's heads. Lent is the time when everybody prepares for Easter. It lasts 40 days. The first day of it is Palm Sunday. This day remind as of the day when Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and people greeted Him with palm leaves. Nowadays, people go to the church with colorful palms. Finally it starts Holy Week.
The three most important days are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. On Maundy Thursday, the king or queen of England gives money to poor people. This tradition is very old. Then it also was Last Supper. On Good Friday, people don't eat certain food. They bake special hot cakes with cross on the top. They call these cakes “hot cross buns”. Good Friday is a day of Christ's Crucifixion. On Easter Sunday we celebrate Christ's Resurrection.
Easter is fun for children why dye eggs and attend in different games. Children believe that Easter Rabbit brings eggs. In reality parents hide eggs in their garden and children try to find as many as they can.
Nowadays, people spend Easter with families. They sometimes go to the parades or play egg games. They celebrate beginning of spring.