Materials
hard-boiled and plastic eggs
vinegar
food coloring in a variety of colors, including red
small baskets
crayons or small candles
ferns or small plants
stickers, sequins, and colored tissue paper
Instructions
* Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon
following the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). This can fall anywhere
between March 22nd and April 25th.
1. Explain that people from all over the world have different customs and
traditions, especially for holidays. Tell the children that they will be
decorating eggs and using some of them to play games from many
different traditions.
* Red Eggs From Greece: Simmer washed eggs for 15 minutes in a
large pan of water, vinegar, and red dye. Dry and polish with a little oil
on cotton wool.
* Egg Hunt From Germany: Hide painted, chocolate, or plastic eggs
around the room or playground. Have the children hunt for them.
* Egg Rolling From Switzerland: Use hard-boiled eggs or plastic ones
and have an egg rolling race down a gentle slope.
* Wax Egg Painting From Ukraine: Ukraine Easter eggs are some of
the most beautiful in the world. Let children draw patterns on their
cooked eggs with wax (crayons or candles) and then put them into
pots of food coloring. Place eggs into boiling water (adult only) to melt
the wax. When dry, a white pattern will show up against the vibrant
colors.
* Egg Tapping From Bulgaria: Have each child take a decorated, hardboiled
egg and take turns tapping it against other children's eggs. The
child with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good
luck ahead.
* Fern Eggs From
Austria: Austrians
glue ferns or small
plants onto the eggs
before boiling in dyes. Then
they peel off the ferns to reveal
the beautiful white plant shape against
the colored egg.
* Egg Game From Slovakia: Encourage
the children to decorate their eggs and
then play a game similar to marbles, called "Cokatisja." The children roll
their eggs at each other and if one cracks another, the child who broke
it wins the cracked egg.
* Blown Eggs From Armenia: In Armenia, as in many countries, eggs
used for cooking are not broken; instead the contents are removed by
piercing both ends of the egg with a large needle and blowing the
contents into a bowl. Help the children with this step and then let
them decorate the eggs carefully with sequins or stickers.
More to do Geography: Put egg-shaped flags on a world map to show each country
(above).
Snack: Make or bring in and eat Easter food from each country.
Social Development: Learn something about Easter traditions in each
country.
