Copyright © 2008 Queen's school of English
Easter in England
Easter is the most important event in the Christian calendar but, although England is described as a "Christian country", the society is multi-cultural and many people living in England simply enjoy Easter as a holiday and tuck into chocolate eggs and hot cross buns without giving a thought to their symbolic meanings. You would be forgiven for thinking that England has no Easter traditions because it is a time for quiet family gatherings with none of the razzmatazz and hectic atmosphere that accompanies Christmas. Many of the ancient traditions are now only observed in the close communities of smaller towns and villages.
At Easter churches in England are decorated with special care and the Madonna Lily (also called the Easter Lily), a symbol of purity, features widely in flower arrangements. People who only attend church on special occasions will turn out on Easter Day wearing the modern equivalent of the Easter Bonnet.
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Madonna Lily
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Easter Bonnet Parade |
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The Easter Bunny as we know him has evolved from roots in pagan times when the hare was a powerful symbol of fertility and the new life of the spring season. The bunny's association with Easter came much later, having originated from 16th century German folk lore where children were promised that the Easter Hare would bring them eggs on Easter Day if they were good. |
Easter bunny |
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Easter foods are important to the celebration of Easter in England. Roast Lamb is a favourite traditional dinner for Easter Day. The lamb is a symbol of innocence in many cultures and in past centuries it was considered a lucky omen to meet a lamb, (maybe not so lucky for the lamb if Easer was approaching). |
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| Simnel cake, which is now special to Easter, was originally given as gifts to mothers on Mothering Sunday the cake is decorated with eleven balls of marzipan to represent the eleven true disciples. The all-important treats in the form of chocolate Easter Eggs only became popular in the twentieth century when solid chocolate became widely available. |
Simnel cake |
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Hot Cross buns are surprising rich in symbolism and superstitious meaning. To Christians hot cross buns symbolise the cross that Jesus was crucified on and it is traditional to eat them on Good Friday, the anniversary of his death. However, the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross and it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's four quarters. There are other superstitions attached to hot cross buns. One such superstition is that hot cross buns baked on Good Friday would last a year without going mouldy. |
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Hardened buns have been used as a lucky charm to protect homes from fire. Hot cross buns and Easter are also connected with seafaring superstition: sailors took hardened buns to sea to protect them from shipwreck and many fishermen will not go to sea to catch fish on Good Friday. |
Hot Cross bun |
Eggs are a forbidden food during Lent and their return to the menu is celebrated on Easter Day. The first Easter eggs were birds' eggs which were painted in bright colours to symbolise the fresh colours of spring. Christians would dye boiled eggs red to symbolise the blood of Christ and these were given to children in the belief that they would afford protection from bad luck throughout the following year. Nowadays few people in England take the trouble to paint ornate decorations onto boiled eggs for Easter but many people still dye boiled eggs as a traditional part of their Easter.
The tradition of Easter Egg hunts for children is no longer widespread, especially in our cities, but it has not died out completely. Easter eggs, particularly the chocolate variety, are probably the most popular and widely recognised symbol of Easter as Easter eggs symbolise new life and the resurrection, this seems quite appropriate.
Easter Egg hunt
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