©

Macmillan Polska 2011

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Student’s Worksheet A

EASTER TRADITIONS

1. Read the text and write 5 questions about it. Ask the questions to another student

and then answer his/her questions.

Easter is a Christian festival. It is a moveable feast, which means its date varies each year

depending on the lunar calendar. Easter Sunday falls on the fi rst Sunday after the fi rst full moon

following the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere.

A lot of Easter customs are similar across the globe. Christians observe Lent, which is a 40-day

period of fasting in preparation for Easter. At Easter they go to church and participate in

processions.

Other traditions, also observed by non-religious people, include decorating or dyeing Easter eggs

and sending out greeting cards. There are also different games: the Easter Egg Hunt, which is a

search for chocolate eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny, Egg Rolling, which involves rolling eggs

down the hill or Egg Tapping with participants using hard-boiled eggs to tap other people’s eggs

in order to crack them. These customs involve symbols associated with Easter: eggs, chicks and

bunnies, which all symbolize new life.

A lot of countries have their own unique Easter traditions. In Australia, the symbol of Easter is a

bilby, which is a native animal with long ears and a long tail. Australian children get chocolate

bilbies as Easter presents. On Easter Saturday, Germans have a festive get-together to build the

Easter Fire, which is an enormous bonfi re made from old Christmas trees so as to clean away the

last signs of winter. In Greece, people attend a midnight service on Easter Saturday. Each person

brings a tall white candle. Children’s candles are often lavishly decorated with heroes or storybook

characters.

When it comes to Easter food, eggs are a staple everywhere. Other dishes vary from country to

country. In Britain, Hot Cross Buns, i.e. spiced tea cakes, are traditionally served on Good Friday.

Roast lamb is the preferred meat for the main meal on Easter Sunday. Americans have ham as

traditional Easter food. As the Easter dessert, Russians have paskha, which is a kind of cake made

from cottage cheese and fi lled with dried fruit. Spanish people eat bread pudding called the

torrijas. It consists of slices of warm bread soaked in milk, sugar and egg, fried in olive oil.

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©

Macmillan Polska 2011

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Student’s Worksheet B

EASTER TRADITIONS

2. Fill in the missing words to complete the text.

Easter is a Christian festival. It is a

m_ _ e _ _ l e

1

feast, which means its date varies each year

depending on the lunar calendar. Easter Sunday falls on the fi rst Sunday after the fi rst full moon

following the spring equinox in the northern

h_m_ s _ _ _re

2

.

A lot of Easter customs are similar across the

g _ _ _e

3

. Christians observe Lent, which is a 40-day

period of

f _ s _ _ _ g

4

in preparation for Easter. At Easter they go to church and participate in

p _ _ _ _ s _ i _ _ s

5

.

Other traditions, also observed by non-religious people, include decorating or dyeing Easter eggs

and sending out

g _ _ _ t _ _ g

6

cards. There are also different games: the Easter Egg Hunt, which

is a search for chocolate eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny, Egg Rolling, which involves rolling eggs

down the hill or Egg Tapping with participants using

h_ _ d-b_ _ _ _ d

7

eggs to tap other people’s

eggs in order to

c _ _ c_

8

them. These customs involve symbols associated with Easter: eggs,

chicks and bunnies, which all

s _ _b_ _ _ _e

9

new life.

A lot of countries have their own unique Easter traditions. In Australia, the symbol of Easter is

a bilby, which is a

n _ _ _v e

10

animal with long ears and a long tail. Australian children get

ch _ _ _ _ _ _ e

11

bilbies as Easter presents. On Easter Saturday, Germans organize a festive

g _ t-t _ _ _t_ _ r

12

to build the Easter Fire, which is an enormous

b _ _ _ _ re

13

made from old

Christmas trees so as to clean away the last signs of winter. In Greece, people attend a midnight

s _ _ _ _ ce

14

on Easter Saturday. Each person brings a tall white candle. Children’s candles are

often

l _ _ _s _ ly

15

decorated with heroes or storybook characters.

When it comes to Easter food, eggs are a

s _ _ p _e

16

everywhere. Other dishes vary from country

to country. In Britain, Hot Cross Buns, i.e. spiced tea cakes, are traditionally served on Good

Friday.

R _ _ _t

17

lamb is the preferred meat for the main meal on Easter Sunday. Americans have

ham as traditional Easter food. As the Easter

d _ _s_ rt

18

, Russians have paskha, which is a kind

of cake made from cottage cheese and fi lled with dried fruit. Spanish people eat bread pudding

called the torrijas. It consists of

s _ _ _ _ s

19

of warm bread soaked in milk, sugar and egg, fried

in

o_ _ _e

20

oil.

3. Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

1. How is Easter celebrated in your country?
2. Have you ever played any Easter games? Which ones?
3. Do you ever send Easter greeting cards (traditional or online)?
4. What is your favourite Easter food?