In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of

the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food

the festival can occur on any Sunday between March 22
and April 25.

Maundy Thursday
The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word
mandatum, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last
Supper, commanded:And now I give you a new commandment: love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 15:12

Maundy Thursday Ceremony

In Britain today, the Queen follows a very traditional
role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners
Every year on this day, the Queen attends a Royal
Maundy service in one of the many
cathedrals 'Maundy money' is distributed
to male and female pensioners Yeomen
of the Guards carry the Maundy Money in
white and red leather purses on golden
alms trays on their heads. The number of
people receiving
the coins, is related
to the years of the
Sovereigns life. In
2008, the white
leather purse contained silver Maundy coins
matching the Queen's age in pence - 82p, while
the red purse contains ordinary money.
In 2009, 83 male and 83 female pensioners will receive 83p in
Maundy Money, because the Queen is 83 years old this year.

Good Friday
On the Friday before Easter, Christians
commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. It is a day of mourning

Hot Cross Buns

"Hot cross buns,

hot cross buns,

one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns.
If you do not like them,
give them to your sons,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns."

In UK it is traditional to eat warm

'hot cross buns' on Good Friday.
The pastry cross on top of the buns
symbolises and reminds Christians
of the cross that Jesus was killed
on.

Easter Sunday
Easter eggs are a very old tradition
going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all
are a symbol of spring and new life. Exchanging
and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom. Today
real eggs are replaced by chocolate Easter eggs.

Easter Egg Hunt an d the

Easter bunny
In the UK
children believe
that if they are
good the
"Easter Bunny "
will leave
(chocolate) eggs for them.
Small chocolate eggs are
hidden for the children to find in
the garden, on the traditional
Easter Egg Hunt.

Specia l Food at Easter

Easter day, like Christmas day, is also
associated with special food.
Boiled eggs are traditionally served at
breakfast, then Easter
cards and gifts may
be exchanged.
Roast lamb is the traditional meat for the
main meal on Easter Day. It is served with
mint sauce and vegetables.
Simnel cake is baked for tea. NB: Eleven balls
of marzipan are placed around the top to represent
the eleven true disciples (excluding Judas)

Easter Monday
Egg
rolling
games
Egg rolling is
very popular in
England and the
rest of the UK
and is an Easter
Monday sport.
Hard-boiled
eggs are rolled
down a hill.
Customs differ
from place to
place. The
winner's egg
may be the one that rolls the farthest, survives the most rolls, or is
rolled between two pegs.

Morris dancing is a traditional English

form of folk dance.
In the dance men
dress up in
costumes with hats
and ribbons and
bells around their
ankles.
They dance through
the streets and one
man often carries an
inflated pigs bladder on the end of a stick. He will
run up to young women in the street and hit them over the head with
the pigs bladder, this is supposed to be lucky.