Episode 123
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Hello, everybody! I am Georgiana your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.
Today we'll talk about something festive. Have you noticed that in springtime you go to your local supermarket and you see chocolate bunnies and colorful eggs everywhere?
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Well, today I'll talk about Easter and how Americans celebrate this holiday.
And with a funny mini-story, you’ll practice your speaking while learning new things about the Easter holiday.
What exactly are we celebrating at Easter? Each spring people all over the world, celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In 2019, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April 21.
Whenever Easter comes, everywhere you go you'll see from colorful eggs to Easter bunny cakes.
Also, most people have a week off for Easter, so parties are organized to enjoy the occasion with family and friends. Certainly, Easter is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States.
And how else do Americans celebrate Easter?
Apart from spending this holiday with friends and family, some people attend special services which are held in churches on Easter.
And what's with the eggs and the rabbits? Why are they a symbol of this holiday?
Eggs and rabbits symbolize the rebirth and return to the fertility of nature in spring. The eggs are hard-boiled and decorated or made of plastic, candy, and of course chocolate.
Every year, several Easter activities are held at the White House lawn. Hundreds of children participate in different activities and organize games.
The White House Easter Egg Roll officially dates back to 1878. Here's how the game works: The egg is placed on a flat floor while the children are asked to push it with a spoon. So cool! Right? Isn’t it surprising to see a child playing with an egg instead of a video-game?
And there’s another popular game in the States called Easter egg hunting. Here’s how it works: The eggs are hidden all over the house, and the children hunt them with great excitement.
As a child, I have fond memories of making Easter eggs with my family and in school.
This type of activity is great for children. And usually, kids remember making Easter Eggs for the rest of their life.
Kids love decorating Easter eggs in the days before the holiday. And it’s a beautiful way to stimulate their creativity.
And on Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy including the eggs that they decorated earlier that week.
By the way, a bunny is a child term for a rabbit. Now you know what Bugs Bunny means. 🙂
Of course, children enjoy this holiday a lot, but adults also have fun displaying their costumes and colorful hats at the Easter parades.
The person leading the parade holds an Easter candle or cross in their hand.
How interesting? Right?
And how do you celebrate Easter?
Speaking Practice
Mini-Story: Speaking Practice
Answer each question out loud, then listen to the answer and respond quickly. Don’t worry about mistakes.
Speaking practice
Let’s Start!
The custom of giving eggs at Easter comes from the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Romans, and Greeks.
What do we give at Easter?
Eggs. We have the custom of giving eggs at Easter.
What custom comes from the Ancient Egyptians?
The custom of giving eggs.
Do we give eggs at Christmas?
No. No. We don’t give eggs at Christmas. We give eggs at Easter.
Does the custom also come from the Romans?
Yes. The custom also comes from the Romans.
The word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess who represents the hare and the egg.
What word comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess?
Easter. The word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess.
Where does the word Easter come from?
From Greece?
No. No. The word Easter doesn’t come from Greece. It comes from an Anglo-Saxon goddess.
What does the Anglo-Saxon goddess represent?
The Anglo-Saxon goddess represents the hare and the egg.
At Easter, people usually buy sweets made of chocolate.
What do people buy at Easter?
Do they buy a tree?
No. No. People don’t buy a tree at Easter. People buy sweets at Easter.
When do people buy sweets?
At Easter. People buy sweets at Easter.
What type of sweets do people buy?
Chocolate sweets. People usually buy sweets made of chocolate.
Each year on Easter more than 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced in the United States.
When are the chocolate bunnies produced?
In winter?
No. No. The chocolate bunnies are produced in spring at Easter.
How many chocolate bunnies are produced in the United States?
90 million. 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced in the United States.
Where are the chocolate bunnies produced?
In Europe?
No. No. They are not produced in Europe. The chocolate bunnies are produced in the States.
Consequently, Easter is one of the sweetest holidays of the year.
So what's one of the sweetest holidays?
Easter. It’s one of the sweetest holidays of the year.
Is Easter the bitterest holiday?
No. No. Easter isn’t the bitterest holiday. It’s one of the sweetest holidays of the year.
Do people go on a diet at Easter?
No. No. People don’t go a diet at Easter. People eat many sweets at Easter. That’s why it’s the sweetest holidays of the year.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary from This Episode
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
01 resurrection
return to life after death.
05 hard-boiled egg
an egg cooked in its shell until firm.
02 Easter Bunny
a traditional rabbit character associated with Easter.
06 parade
a public procession celebrating a special occasion.
03 Easter egg hunt
a game in which hidden eggs are searched for.
07 rebirth
the process of becoming alive or active again.
04 egg roll
a game in which children push an egg along the ground.
08 hare
an animal similar to a rabbit but usually larger.
Georgiana is a teacher who teaches to speak English very easily, I love her way of teaching I know that I can not meet her and I can’t talk her but I want to say two words for her,
If we get a teacher like you, we can learn very easily.
Let’s thank her
Thank you Georgiana 🙂
Thank you Georgiana. I like your method very much. I enjoyed this lesson about Easter Holiday
Thanx a million my best teacher 🥺🥺🥺 i hope ur lessons stay free
Thank you very much for your comment. I’m so glad you like my lessons. 🙂