Easter Upper Intermediate

7/28/2019 Easter Upper Intermediate

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EASTER: PAST AND PRESENT1. What do you knowaboutthehistory of Easter? Read this textquickly to find out moreaboutits origins.Easter'sorigins re pagan,Hebrew nd Christian. 1)Easter becamea holy celebrationn the2nd century. 2) It ookplaceon theday of thespringequinox,March 21st. Many traditions ssociatedwith he paganfestival urvive oday n theEaster abbit,which s a symbolof ferti l ity nd the colourful asteregg,which symbolises unlight,spring nd new ife.OtherEastercustomscome rom he JewishPassover east,whichcommemorateshe deliveranceof the Jews from Egypt as recounted n the Book of Exodus. (3) This importantestivalwas celebrated t the irst ul lmoon after he springequinox.Most Christiansbelieve hat esus Christwas crucified nd buriedustbefore he beginning f Passoveron Fridaymorning. 4)-As Christianity pread t was very common or the missionaries o adoptand modifynon-Christianfestivals. 5) ln sucha way non-Christianriginsweregraduallyorgotten.For Christians,Easter Sunday remembers he Resurrection f Christ. t is celebratedon the firstSundayafterthe irstfullmoonon, orafter, he spring quinox,March21st. 6)Eastercomes at the end of Lent,a 40-dayperiodof fasting nd spiritual reparation,ymbolisingJesus'40-day ast n hedese.Lentbegins nAsh Wednesday, henashesareused o marka crosson the orehead f believers o remind hem hatman toowill ultimately e ash. HolyWeek, he astweek of Lent,beginson Palm Sunday,which commemoratesesus'entry nto erusalemwhenthecrowds aidpalmsat His feet. 7) Good Friday,whichprobably as ts name rom God'sFriday', ommemoratesesus'crucifixion.he name'GoodFriday'isusedbecauseChristians elievethatJesus' deathshouldbe celebrated s it allows hem o 'makepeace'withGod. EasterSunday

marks he endof HolvWeek and celebrates esus'Resurrection,he Christian ymbolof renewal ndrebirth.2" Read the text again and put the missing sentences A-G) into the correct spaces n the text (1-7).A. Maundy Thursday remembersthe Last Supper (in Britain the Queen attendsa Maundy Thursdayseruiceand distributes ifts of money to the samenumberof peopleas her age,a traditionstartednl36l withEdward II).B. Therefore t can fall on any SundaybetweenMarch 22nd andApril 25th.C. Befor hen t was apurelypagan eastcelebratinghe estivalof Eostre, heancientSaxongoddess ffertility and springtime,who symbolisedrenewal andrebirth.D. The Easter celebration s we know it todayhas elements rom each of theseand,while for religiouspeople t is a time to renew heir faith. or the secular t is a time to celebrate he beginningof springand the new life that comes with this.E. Many earlyChristianswere of Jewishorigin and saw Easteras a new feature f the Passover estival.F. This tells how the Angel of Death passedover' the homes of Jewswho had marked heirdoorswithsacrificialblood, while killing the irst-bomof everyfamiiy whose doorwas not markd.G. This was a safeway of spreading he Christianmessageas it allowdpeople to continuecelebratingtheir non-Christian feasts.but in a more andmore Christian manner.

a) the rising of Jesus rom thetomb b) religious c) killed by beingnailed o a crossd) told e) changeslightly t) period of going withoutcertainkinds of food g) freeing

h) time in theyearwhen the sun crosses he equatorand day andnight are of equal ength

3. Find words or phrases n the text which mean the same as those n the box below (a-h).


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EASTER SYMBOLS4. Look at thepictures ndname hesymbols.EasterEgg E,aster ily EasterBunny Cross Lamb EastrBasketc)ffi.,fu)vb"-\ '-\ . \\ , , \\ ' l , ( 2 '

5. Read the text and decidewhich Easter symbol eachpassagedescribes.1. It s childrn's avouriteEastercharacter. hey believethat t comes n thenightandhidesa basketofchocolateeggs or them o find.Its originsarepagan. t was theearthlysymbol of theSaxongoddessof spring,Eostre, and symbolisedfertility and new life. Originally it was a hare.Early Europeansbelievedtheharesymbolised hemoon as egendsaysthe animalneverclosed ts eyes,but watchedall theotheranimalsduringthenight. It makes t a very appropriate ymbol for Easter because hedateof E,astrs determined y the moon.2. This beautifulwhite flower was originalLya symbol of spring n Ancint Greece.The specieswasbrought oAmerica in the ate 1800sand, or Christians,cameto symbolisethepurity of Christ.

3. This symbol, decorating hehot crossbunstraditionallyeaten or breakfaston Good Friday, standsfor the Crucifixion and Christianity.Apparently, hesesweet olls also havepaganorigins asAnglo-Saxons ate cakes during their spring celebrationsand, in order to .christianise' thsecakes, themissionariesdrewthis signon themandblessed hem'4. We can't forget he traditionalmeatfor dinneron EasterSunday.For Christians, t represents esusChrist,who is often eferred o as theLamb of God. Th Jewssacrificed his animal as an offeringtoGod and Christiansbelieve that Jesussacrificedhimself to savemankind.5. It is the most popular Easter symbol that,even before Christianity, symbolisednew life and rebirth.

Christians atertook it to represent hetombthat Jsuscamout of' a symbol of resurrection.They werea forbidden food during Lent in the Middle Ages so people gave them as presentson Easter Sunday'Mastersgave themto ir SetYants,hearistocracywrapped hem n agold leaf andpeasantsdecoratedthemby boiling themwith leavesandpetals.They were alwaysbrightly coloured o represent pringand sunlight.6. This symbol originates rom the ancientCatholic traditionof taking food to Mass for the priest tobless.For many .hitd."n it symbolises henest of theE,aster unny and hey can'twait to find it filledwith chocolateeggson Eastermorning'

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6. Easter symbolsquiz. How much do you remem rer? Team name:1. What is all children's favouriteEaster symbol?2. What does the Easter Rabbit do?3. What did the EasterRabbit symbolize?4. Why did theEuropeansbeiieve that he hare symbolised he moon?5. What determines he date of Easter?6. What were lilies originally a symbol ofl7. Whenwere ilies brousht o America?8. What do EasterLilies represent or Christians?9. What food is served or Good Friday breakfast?10. What ar hot cross buns?

11.What doesthe Cross stand or?12. How did missionaries christianise,caks?13. What mat s traditionallyservedfor Easter dinner?14. How is Christ oftenrefened to?15.What do Christiansbeliev that Christ did?16.What doesthe EasterEgg symbolise?17.When were eggs a forbidden ood?18.How did the aristocracyandpeasants ecorateeggs?19.Wheredoes heEasterBasket originate rom?20. What does the EasterBasket represent or children?EASTER WORD HUNT7. Use the clues o helpyou find 12 words relating o Easter.The wordsmay go n any direction:horizontally, ertically,diagonally, orwards and backwards.

1.A festival celebratingChrist's Resurrection2. A sweet oll marked with a cross and eatenonthe Friday beforeEaster3.A day or time of rest4. Associated with God or religion5. We like to eat eggsmade of this sweetsubstance6. The day which commemorates he crucifixionof Christ7. Th Easter Bunny hides eggs n this forchildren to find8. A symbol of new life9. Jesus10.A small furry animal with long ears thathidespresentsand represents ertility11.The first seasonof the year. t startsonMarch 21st12.Th Sunday beforeEaster

P A L M S U N D A Y O RH O C O L A T E S Q E EO E T P G N I R P S W TT O G Y A D N U S A M AC F A G H T E U F P E WR A R T S I R I I C U R TO M A S R E T S A E Q IS I B A C H O L I D A YS L B T E K S A B R U MB Y I E T A L O C O H CU O T H H O L Y D A I ON O G O O D F R I D A Y


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FORBIDDEN WORDS8. Definethe words in bold without using the forbidden words on the card.

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EGG IDIOMS9. Choose he correctmeaning or eachof thesedioms.1. If you 'egg someone n', do you _

2. Isa 'badegg '

3. If you 'put all your eggs n onebasket', areyou _

4. Isan egg-head'_

a) encourage hem to do somthing?b) urge themto drive faster?c) politely ask themto leave?a) a stupid dea?b) a dishonestperson?c) bad news?a) carrying a bag that s too heavy?b) risking all on the succssof one thing?c) a cleverperson?a) avery intellectualperson?b) an uneducated erson?c) a foolish person?a) need a wash?b) look bored?c) look foolish?

5. Ifyou 'haveegg on your face', do you _

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Easter Upper Intermediate