Visit the activity.

This section can be used when looking at different religions and celebrations in the world and would be particularly good if studied around Easter time as it looks at a number of different springtime celebrations.

There is a pupil worksheet to accompany the webpage (worksheet 1) and another classroom craft worksheet (worksheet 2) that gives children instructions on how to blow an egg. Blown eggs can be decorated in a variety of different ways. Shapes can be cut out and stuck on the eggs, or patterns can be drawn on the eggs in wax, then the eggs can be dyed using commercial or home-made dyes such as beetroot juice, ink or coffee. Alternatively, the eggs can be decorated Fabergé-style with sequins, feathers, and tissue paper, stuck on with either glue or the white of the egg itself. Younger children might find blown eggs too fragile to work with - boiled eggs can be substituted instead.

Note: Children should be reminded that it is illegal to collect and blow the eggs of wild birds.

Background information

The date of Easter is moveable and is usually celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere. The Spring Equinox is the 21st of March, after which Spring is said to have begun.

The practice of giving eggs at Easter time is pre-Christian and began as a celebration of the new life that comes with Spring - hence the symbolism of eggs. It is thought (although not proved) that the origin of Easter eggs and rabbits (hares) originates from Pagan rituals practised thousand of years ago in Germany. The eggs represented rebirth of crops and the hares/rabbits were a symbol of fertility to wish for many livestock and young.

Iranians have decorated and exchanged eggs at the spring equinox for thousands of years. The earliest spring celebrations are recorded in Babylon in about 2400BCE. It is thought that the Jews who were held captive as slaves in Babylon adopted this spring celebration into their Passover festival. Christians also later adapted spring festivities as a time to celebrate the resurrection and rebirth of Christ and the egg is said to represent the tomb in which Jesus was laid before he returned to life.

The Hindu festival of Holi is also a celebration of the arrival of Spring. It falls at the time of the full moon towards the end of February or the beginning of March. Large bonfires are lit and the festival lasts from three to five days. Bright clothes are worn and people spray one another with coloured water or powder.

Sikhs celebrate a festival called Hola or Hola-Mohalla at about the same time of year. It includes feats of strength and courage as well as fun and games.

There is a Chinese festival of Spring called Ch'ing Ming, about a month after the Chinese New Year, though it is not widely celebrated.

This section of website also looks at creation stories from around the world and shows how in Africa, India and China there are beliefs that the Earth and humanity was born from an egg.

Lesson suggestions:

Preparation:

Review the website.

Download the worksheet and photocopy as necessary.

If you plan to blow and decorate eggs, bring raw or cooked eggs as appropriate to your class.

Begin the lesson by asking pupils:

• When is springtime? How does the climate change in spring?
• Do pupils celebrate the arrival of spring? Do they celebrate Easter, Passover etc?
• What traditions and celebrations do people carry out at Easter/spring e.g. eating chocolate eggs, rolling boiled eggs down slopes?

Explain that a lot of cultures all over the world celebrate spring, as it is a time when crops start to grow and new livestock are born (e.g. spring lambs). As humans need food for survival, the appearance of new food has been celebrated for thousands of years all over the world in different ways.

Explain that eggs are often used as a symbol of birth and rebirth and so eggs are used to celebrate spring and new crops. In China eggs are used to celebrate new babies. Eggs also appear in a lot of cultures in terms of explaining how the World and people came into existence e.g. in Africa, India and China.

Show pupils the webpage, either as a class on an interactive whiteboards or allow them to work individually/in pairs on computers to explore the countries on the world map. Make sure that pupils understand that the information talks about the past as well as the present.

Give the pupils the PDF to record the information they learn from the website.

If you plan to decorate an egg, follow the instructions on the craft worksheet. Alternatively, ask pupils to draw a large egg and decorate it in two dimensions.

Homework:

Ask pupils to research and write about one way in which eggs are used in a celebration.

Alternatively ask pupils to write a story involving an egg like one of the creation stories.

Answers to worksheet 1:

Iran - Families paint eggs and each place one painted egg in a bowl to celebrate their New Year at the Spring Equinox.

Germany - Eggs and hares were used in spring celebrations thousands of years ago.

UK - Eggs are used up making pancakes before Lent begins.

Russia - Eggs are not eaten during Lent but red coloured eggs are given at Easter.

West Africa - Many tribes have stories about the World beginning from an egg.

China - A party is held to celebrate the birth of a baby and eggs are given to guests by the new parents.

Israel - Boiled eggs are eaten at Passover to remember that Jews hold on to their faith in difficult times.

India - Hindus believe that the Universe came form a golden egg planted by Brahma.

USA - The Easter bunny leaves Easter baskets and eggs.

Note: As this lesson is looking at different beliefs and cultures around the world, be careful not to allow pupils to make judgements about different religions and people's beliefs.

Links

See www.globalgourmet.com/food/kgk/0399/kgk032799.html for Easter egg ideas and www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0397/eggcourt.html for information on how eggs have been used in courtship.

The appropriate curriculum links are shown below: