Welcome to my Easter page, where you'll find loads of Easter related things to see and do, l have games, classroom activities for teacher's and students, Easter clipart, recipes and of course links to Easter related sites. So enjoy your time here and let me know what you think!

The History of Easter | The traditions associated with Easter | Easter traditions around the world
Classroom activities and teachers resources | Just for kids | Easter in Australia | Games and fun stuff

The History of Easter In ancient times Easter was originally celebrated as the beginning of Spring. With the beginning of Christianity, Easter was then associated with the resurrection of Christ. The Christian church normally celebrates Easter between the 22nd of March and the 25th of April every year. This date was set in about A.D. 325 by the church council of Nicaea. The Christian church begin their Easter celebrations soon after the "Vernal equinox" where there is an equal number of daylight and night time hours. Soon after the vernal equinox Christians begin the period called "Lent" (an old English word meaning spring) which leads to the celebration of Easter. Lent begins on "Ash Wednesday". Lent for the Christian church and other religions is normally a time when people eat little or no food. Although in modern times, Christians will give up something that they enjoy during this time. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, and is the day the Christians believe was the day Jesus Christ died on the cross. Traditionally Christians celebrate Good Friday as a day of peace and not of sadness. Easter Sunday is the day that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many religions celebrate this day with early church services. Back to top The traditions associated with Easter Easter Eggs: Traditionally the egg was a symbol of new life, and in ancient times the eggs given at Easter were hard-boiled and dyed. The tradition of egg dying goes back thousands of years when the Egyptians would exchange dyed eggs, the ancient Christians also gave dyed eggs to family and friends at Easter time. In modern times the chocolate egg as we know it today is given. Hot Cross Buns It is believed that the tradition of hot cross buns predates Easter and goes further back in time. In pagan times it was said that cakes were offered to the god Zeus. Christians have throughout the years made and eaten the buns on Good Fridays for centuries. The cross on top of the buns is said to represent the cross on which Jesus died. Back to top Easter traditions around the world Below is how a few countries celebrate Esster. Greece: The Greeks give red eggs symbolising the blood of Christ. One person says "Christ is risen" and the other person replies "Truly he is risen". Germany: They dye their eggs green in Germany, traditionally this is done on Maundy Thursday. Mexico: The Mexicans celebrate Easter by smashing egg's over people's heads during the period of Lent. United States: In New York, the Americans hold an Easter parade. Bulgaria: In Bulgaria they have egg fights, and the winner is the one who's egg doesn't break! Back to top

Classroom activities and teachers resources State Library of Queensland - Easter activities From the State Library of Queensland this site contains loads of activities for younger to middle grades. Table of contents includes: Colouring pages; Puzzles; Jigsaws; Group activities. Also included is Easter background information; Resources for Librarians providing links to related sites; Resources for younger people. Easter printables These sites are about Easter and the symbols associated with the holiday. Play online games or print out puzzles. Includes many craft ideas and free clip art. Try some egg-related math problems. Grade levels: 1-6. Easter printables Contains printable activities and crafts pages, colouring pages and more, heaps to look at. Easter Bonnet - color in Just a single printable colouring page of an Easter bonnet for children to colour. Easter From Lake Munmorah Public School this page contains an Online Worksheet for students, with links to relevant sites, a printable worksheet is provided. Stage 2 - Grades 3 & 4 (N.S.W.) Bry Backmanor Easter Bunny Alphabet matching game board This page provides a printable alphabet bunny board. EdNA Online Themes pages - Easter This page provides a useful collection of Australian and overseas resources related to the celebration of Easter, its religious meaning, and activities. The EdNA Online Theme pages for Schools provides teachers and students with evaluated quality resources from the EdNA Online database. EdHelper.com Easter resource links This site contains dozens of lesson plans and activities relating to Easter. Table of contents includes: Reading comprehension; Math worksheets; Printables; Mazes; Colouring pages & links. Welcome to the great egg answer hunt An online egg hunt, where students need to find the answers to 14 questions, not just Easter eggs, but questions about dinosaurs, ostriches and more, links to related sites are provided, and an option for teacher's to print the questions. Fun Easter printables Here are some quick ideas to print off and use in the classroom or homeschool. Welcome to Easter activities for kids These pages are suitable for Lower - Middle Primary school students and teachers as pre-Easter activities on and off-line. All sites have been checked for relevant content. Most are advertisement free but some contain banners. Table of contents includes: Easter print out activities, crafts, foods, music, stories, games and Celebrations from around the world. Back to top

Just for kids Easter This fun site for primary and younger children features educational games, printable coloring pages, holiday activities, free musical postcards, crafts, and puzzles. Happy Easter from Blackdog Contains games and activities, with everything from Riddles to colouring pages, Downloads, free stuff and links too! Colouring pages - Easter Contains about 15 colouring pages, including eggs, chicks and bunnies. Crews Nest Holiday & Easter activities All about easter eggs, hot cross buns, the Easter bunny, and check out some jokes! Bethany Roberts' Easter fun for kids Easter jokes, stories, and poems, play games, make crafts and recipes, plan a party, send e-cards, and do the Bunny Hop! Squigly's playhouse: Easter Contains colouring pages, crafts, puzzles, online games & activities. Easter sites and homepages This page contains Easter links, very comprehensive. Hoppy Easter: Welcome to a holiday celebration The meaning of Easter, facts on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and Easter traditions. Happy Easter with Billy Bear Billy Bear's Animated Shareware Storybooks. Our playground is filled with Online stories, games, activities pages, holiday pages, and more for young children. Kid Safe Site. DLTK's Printable Crafts for Kids - Easter This page provides a range of printable craft templates for preschool and kindergarten children to make items for Easter. Kid's Domain Easter Time The site offers fun Easter activities for children, colouring books, word games, stories, and more. Back to top

Easter in Australia CMIS Evaluation (Western Australia) - Curriculum Resources Themes Easter The celebration of the Christian festival of Easter provides an opportunity for teachers to investigate with their students, the religious, historical and cultural significance of religious festivals in the Australian community. The materials on this page have been chosen to represent a range of aspects of the Easter festival, including its religious significance to the Christian community, and the various pagan traditions that have become part of the Easter celebration. Easter in Australia This site from the Culture and Recreation Portal looks at how Easter is celebrated in Australia, its religious significance, some of our rituals, the issue of the rascally rabbit vs. the endangered bilby, together with an excellent set of links. Burru Nimu - Easter Bilby Jenny Bright's story about the Easter Bilby. 'This story is about the Bilby, an endangered species in Australia. Wherever possible I have included correct details about the lifestyle, eating habits and behavior of bilbies, and of the other animals and birds that appear in the story. I hope that for children who are too young to read the story themselves, that adult readers will feel free to retell it in their own words. Back to top

Games and fun stuff Holiday fun - Easter games Contains online games, including puzzles, jigsaws, word searches and more. ABC Teach Directory - Easter resources Contains printable colouring pages. Table of contents includes: Easter baskets; Bunnies; Chicks, plus more. Easter printables Provides Easter printable colouring pages, containing: Pattern sheets; cards; invitations; Easter egg hunt game; Easter bonnet concentration game; Bunny footprints; 3d eggs to decorate, plus loads more! AllCrafts.net Free Easter Craft Projects This page contains an extensive list of egg decorating techniques, Easter bunny and chicks printables, links and more. Billy Bears - Easter crafts, projects, and printables Loads of stuff from Billy Bears Easter section for both students and teachers. With colouring pages of bunnies; mazes, printable and online games too. Easter Coloring Pages This site contains over 50 colouring pages, including bunnies & chicks. DLTK's Holiday Activities for Kids Easter Themed Printables This section of DLTK contains printable pages including: Booksmarks; cards; doorknob holders; gift tags and more. Easter and spring crafts and activities These crafts projects are for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children. The crafts use materials found around the house, like egg cartons, cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, etc. Also contains spring related activities and colouring pages. Tigger and Pooh's Easter page This site provides Easter colouring pages, Easter egg hunts, E-cards, Recipes and more. Kids Domain - Easter printables Contains printable craft activities with links to related sites. Back to top

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