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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is the date of the annual celebration of Christ's resurrection. The aim of the Easter Dating Method is to maintain, for each Easter Sunday, the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon that occurred at the time of His resurrection in 30 A.D.

Orthodox churches celebrate their Easter always on the basis of the Julian calendar and the "19 Paschal Full Moon dates" table. The dates for Orthodox Easter Sunday shown above are for the Gregorian calendar equivalent, i.e. the calendar used today in the UK. The Julian calendar date Thursday October 4, 1582 was followed by the Gregorian calendar date Friday October 15, 1582. The 10 dates October 5 to 14 were removed.

In some years the Orthodox Easter Sunday occurs on the same day as the Western Easter Sunday.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Easter Craft

Easter Basket Craft
This craft is really a fun for the kids as a part of their Easter activity. Change a strawberry basket into a colorful Easter basket - just the thing for sprouting Easter grass in, or it can also be used for housing a cotton ball chick, and making a small centerpiece.

Materials Required
  • Strawberry basket
  • Pipe cleaners for handle
  • Colored paper or ribbon strips
  • Scissors
  • Grass, shredded paper etc. to fill the basket
How To Make
  1. Knit strips of paper or ribbon in and out of the holes in the basket.
  2. Then make the handle out of pipe cleaners, if desired.
  3. Fill the basket with some Easter 'grass' or shredded paper, and then add some small goodies.
  4. Now you will be in a position of growing some real Easter grass in your Easter basket.
source: happyeaster .org .uk

More Easter Crafts

Thursday, March 18, 2010

When Is Easter 2010?

When Is Easter?

Easter and the associated holidays do not fall on fixed dates because they follow the Jewish Lunar Calendar and not the Solar Gregorian Calendar. Generally the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on or just after Spring Equinox is fixed as Easter. Easter, thus, may occur on any date between 22nd March and April end.

Still, there is difference of opinion between the churches of the West and orthodox churches of the East, which are deeply prejudiced by the old traditions. In the year 1997, the World Council of Churches put a suggestion to restructure the methods of determining the date of Easter to remove this difference of dates in the Western and the Eastern Churches. Even if this reform was to be implemented since 2001, it failed due to lack of support from these churches.


Easter Calendar 2010
April 04 - Easter Sunday (Western)
February 17- Ash Wednesday

source: happyeaster .org .uk

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Easter Gift Ideas for Kids

  1. Easter Stuffed/Plush Toys, Beanies (chicks, bunnies, etc.)
  2. Easter Story Books
  3. Egg-shaped gifts like pendants, key rings etc.
  4. Easter Bunny-themed Gift Baskets
  5. Easter and Bible Videos and Audios
  6. Chocolate and Candy Eggs and Bunnies
  7. Easter Egg Decorating Kits
  8. Easter Themed Mugs
  9. Easter Themed Toys
  10. Easter Themed Utilities
more Easter 2010 Gifts

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Special Easter 2010 Games

Ducking Monday

In some countries Easter Monday is refered to as "Ducking Monday". The reason was that on this day young girls were thrown in ponds or lakes. The girls were expected to find this funny. They were told it would make them better wives and also that they were more likely to have children.

Chalk Sunday

The Sunday before Lent was known as Chalk Sunday because it was on this day that children would run up to unmarried people as they walked to or from church and put cahlk markings on their clothes.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Easter 2010 Games - Egg Cracking

Egg Cracking

In Lebanon children take their egg cracking games very seriously. They test the eggs first by knocking them against their eye tooth, and then they choose the best egg to use for the contest. The contestants must agree beforehand on how much of their eggs will be covered by their hands as revealing a large part of your egg's shell is much more risky. The games begins with the contestants trying to crack the pointed ends of each other's eggs. The person who loses must then turn his or her egg upside down. If you carck both ends of someone's egg, then you win the egg.

In the Netherlands the older children have eiertikken or egg cracking contests.

In Zurich children carrying Easter eggs meet in the square where a contest is held to find the hardest egg. Some dye their eggs, others leave them plain. One contestant holds the egg with the end pointed and waits while the opposing contestant attempts to crack it with the pointed end of another egg. Then the positions are reversed while the contestants test the flat ends of the eggs. The winner takes the egg which has both ends cracked.

Another game is played with coins and eggs. This is called Eiertutshen. A coin is thrown at the egg in order to break it. If the coin does not stick in the egg, the money is lost. If it does, the thrower wins the egg. Some children swap eggs to find the ones with the hardest ends.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Pancake Races - Easter Games for Kids

Pancake Races

This game everyone gathers in the center of town. The racers hold frying pans with hot pancakes still cooking in them. When the word "Go!" is said they dash to the church, flipping their pancakes as they run. They must flip their pancakes at least three times before they reach the church.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Easter 2010 Games - Rabbit Mask

Rabbit Mask

Another fun idea is to make a rabbit mask. All you need is paper plates, pink or black paper a small quantity for the nose and ears, cardboard and cotton balls or another soft material.

First cut out oval shapes from the cardboard this will become your bunny's ears. Next cut out the nose from the colored paper. You can also cut triangles of pink paper to make the inside of the bunny's ear. Cut two holes in the paper plate for eyes. Then paste on the ears, eyes and nose. Paste cotton balls all over the face to make the bunny look soft. There you have a bunny mask.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Easter Games - Edible Eggs

Edible Eggs

First, you'll need to hollow out the eggs. With a pin, make a hole in one end of the egg. Move the pin around to make sure you tear the membrane around the yolk. Over the sink, blow into one end of the egg until the egg is empty. Melt chocolate and pour it into the hole, filling the egg. Leave it for at least a couple hours. After the chocolate cools peel the eggshell from the egg.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Easter Games - Eggs

Egg and Spoon Races

All you need is a raw egg and a spoon. You can set standard races, obstacle courses, or relays.


Egg-Knocking Game

Every one pairs up and everyone then chooses an egg. The two partners take turns tapping their partner's egg with theirs. The first egg to crack loses and the winner goes on to challenge other winners until there is one egg left.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Easter Games - Egg Toss

Egg Toss

Another Easter game featuring eggs is the "Egg Toss," in which the point is to toss an uncooked egg between two players. The team that can do the longest toss without breaking the egg is the winner. Mothers frequently discourage this game, as it usually results in a lot of laundry.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Easter Games - Egg Bowling

Egg Bowling

Colour some boiled eggs and leave one white. Roll the white one into the centre of a room and take turns to see who can roll their egg closest to the white egg.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Easter Egg Hunts Game

Easter Egg Hunt

Adults fill little plastic eggs with toys and goodies They then hide them under bushes and in other obvious places.

On Easter morning the children of the house join in a search to locate the eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden while they where asleep. The kids are turned loose to find them. The searching might continue through out the house with the older children helping the youngest. The aim is to find the good stuff before anyone else does. Sometimes prizes of candy are awaiting the child finding the most eggs. Easter egg hunts can are also part of a community's celebration of holiday.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Easter 2010 Games - Egg Relay

Egg Relay

This relay is done with two or three teams of four or more players. Each team lines up at the starting point. The first person in each line is given a basket with three hard-boiled eggs. When the command to start is given, the first person in each line picks up an egg and holds it under his or her chin. After an egg is taken from the basket and put under the first player's chin, the players must not touch the egg with their hands until it has been passed the egg. As soon as it is passed, the first person is to pass the second egg. When three eggs have been passed down the line, the team sits down. The first team to sit down wins the relay.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Egg Crafts - Easter Games

Egg Crafts

  1. If your parents won't let you use dyes or food coloring yet, crayons are a good alternative. Have Mom or Dad hard-boil the eggs first, and then take free rein. Scribble, make stripes or even use stickers.
  2. Another possibility is to make an egg collage. You will need sequins, glue, buttons, lace, ribbon, decals, stickers and anything else you find around the house. Simply hard-boil the egg and then start glueing on the buttons, lace, etc. It creates a very original egg.
  3. If you want to dye the eggs, but don't want to spend money on a store-bought kit, food dyes work in a pinch.
    You'll need: Food coloring, hot water, white vinegar, small bowls or cups, a slotted spoon, cooking oil and a soft cloth. Pour 1/4 tsp. food coloring in a small bowl. Add 3/4 cup hot water and 1 tbsp. vinegar. Add eggs to sit until they're the color you want. Remove with spoon and polish them with cooking oil and a soft cloth.
  4. For the true artist, sponge-painted eggs are a beautiful way to give the egg a modern, contemporary look. You'll need: Liquid tempera paint, paper cups, small pieces of foam or sponge, clothes pins and egg cups. Place the hard-boiled eggs in cups. Partially fill the cups with different colors of paint. Clip a piece of sponge to a clothes pin and dip into paper cups, using the clothes pin as a handle. Lightly dab the sponge over the top half of the egg and let dry. Turn egg over and repeat the procedure.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Easter Games - Chocolate Kiss

Chocolate Kiss

Chocolate Kiss is played with chocolate-covered marshmallows. The object of the game is to gobble up marshmallows without allowing others to smear your face with the chocolate. The winner is the person who can eat the most chocolate marshmallows with the cleanest face.

more Free Games

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Easter Games - Easter Egg Roll

Easter Egg Roll

A group of people roll eggs down a steep incline, racing to see which egg gets to the bottom first. Since the eggs are pretty much the same, and the hill is pretty much the same, the determining factor seems to be the speed of release, making this a game that favors hyperactive kids with fast reflexes. The rules of an Easter Egg Roll are to see who can roll an egg the greatest distance or can make the roll without breaking it, usually down a grassy hillside or slope.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Easter 2010

Easter Symbols

Easter Bells
Are rung in France and Italy throughout the year but they are not rung on the Thursday before good Friday. They are silent as way to remember the death of Jesus. They are then rung on Easter Sunday as way of telling people Jesus is alive again.

The Cross
This is the symbol for the Christian religion as Jesus was nailed to a cross but then came back to life.

The Easter Lily
The lily was a reminder to the Christians of how Jesus came back to life. The white Easter Lily is used in many Easter services. It is supposed to be a symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary.

Easter Flowers
Such as daffodil, narcissus and the tulip. Area symbol as they bloom in the spring.

Pussy Willows
These are especially picked at Easter in England and Russia. People would tap each other on the shoulders with a branch of the pussy willow for good luck.

Lambs
The lamb is a symbol as people thought of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who would watch over them as they were lambs. Lambs are born in spring. The Israelites also used lamb's blood to save their firstborn in ancient Egypt.

Rabbits
Rabbits are reminder of spring and new life. They were the favorite animal of the spring goddess Eastre.

The Egg
These are a symbol of spring as well as Easter. They are a sign of new life.

Chicks
The chicks are born from eggs and are a reminder of spring and Easter.

Candles
Candles give light in darkness. Jesus is seen as "the eternal light" showing Christians the way from death to life.

source: easterbunnys .net

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Free Easter Cards - Bunny Easter 2010

Free Easter Cards - Bunny Easter 2010
Easter Bunny Cards

Easter is here... A time for renewal of spirit, rekindling of faith and rejoicing with family and loved ones. Reach out to all those you care about and renew your family ties.

Download here

Monday, March 1, 2010

Free Easter Cards - Easter Eggs

Easter Cards - Easter Eggs
Free Easter Cards - Easter Eggs

As you celebrate and enjoy Easter, it's also the time to extend your thankfulness to friends, family and loved ones for their warm wishes. Send them an Eggs Easter ecards.

Download Here