Easter Traditions       Some people believe it was the ancient Babylonians who "invented" colored eggs! These are the same Babylonians who invented some other pretty neat things like the wheel and the sailboat 5000 years ago! Today, the Lithuanians may be the world's most outstanding egg rolling contestants. They practice all year!  In Mexico, people go to church and enjoy Easter Egg hunts just as they do in many cultures.  They have regular Easter eggs, highly decorated hard-boiled eggs or plastic eggs with little prizes inside. And, they have special eggs called cascarones. These are whole eggshells filled with colored confetti. After the family has gathered and enjoyed a big family Easter dinner, the kids pretend they are in battle and throw the cascarones eggs back and forth and sneak up behind good friends to break the cascarone over his or her head.  If you'd like to make some cascarones, here are the directions: Using an uncooked egg, punch a tiny hole at both ends and blow into one of the holes. The egg will come out of the egg, leaving most of shell intact. Or, punch a hole about the size of dime and let the egg drain out. Use the egg! Clean the eggshell by gently rising it out. Let it drain and dry. Store your eggshell in an egg carton. It keeps them safe and makes it easy to find where you stored them. Then, a few weeks before Easter, make some confetti out of brightly colored tissue paper. Fill half the eggshell with confetti. Make a paste of flour and water, and use this to close the hole. Let it dry, then decorate your eggs!   In Sweden, Easter is celebrated a bit differently than it is in the United States. On the Thursday before Easter, children in Sweden dress up as Easter witches and go from house to house, where they are given gifts or small amounts of money, somewhat like kids do in American on Halloween! The phrase for Happy Easter in Swedish is GLAD PASK! To learn more about Swedish customs, in ancient and in modern times, see Easter in Sweden.   For Kids Original Easter clip art, mazes, coloring pages, screen savers, downloadable games, java games, Easter egg hunts and more all year long! Billy Bear's Happy Easter Got Eggs? Free Easter clip art HUGE SITE - Each calendar date has lessons, free ecards Easter - Ecards, crafts, trivia, free clip art, games! Easter & Spring For Teachers Yakaberry - Free Reading Hour Lesson Plans & Activities for Tots, Toddlers, Preschool, and School Age Easter (clickable worksheet) Easter/Spring Classroom Activities Easter Mini-Unit (Homeschooling UNITs) Faberge Eggs Kids Page   Religious Easter Activities Units on Spring for PK-2nd grade Our Holiday Gift to You! Have a great year!  All Rights Reserved Counter start date January 2006     Have a great year!