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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate
Easter customs
For Christians, Easter is one of the most important festivals of the year. It commemorates the death and the resurrection of Jesus. In many countries it is traditional to give chocolate eggs or rabbits at Easter. And in many places it is the custom to hide eggs.
But Easter was an important celebration before Christian times. The ancient Europeans celebrated the arrival of spring after the long hard winter with festivals at Easter time. Later, the Christian missionaries changed these customs into the Christian celebration we know today.
The traditional Easter egg was a universal symbol of new life in many cultures. Decorating and painting eggs was the custom in England during the middle ages. Masters gave all their servants and children gifts of eggs at Easter. For the ancient Egyptians eggs were the symbol of fertility and friends gave each other eggs as gifts. In other ancient civilisations, the egg represented the universe because of its perfect shape and because it is the source of life.
Rabbits are also linked to Easter. The rabbit or Easter bunny is a very ancient, pre-Christian symbol. In ancient times it was the symbol of fertility. Today, most of the Easter bunnies are made of chocolate!
In many European countries people make special bread or pastries at Easter. In Russia there is the traditional paska bread, in Germany they make osterstollen. In Italy they make special sweet bread in the shape of a chick or a bunny.
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C2 Mastery
