Easter in Britain

In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. Easter eggs, Easter bunny and sending Easter cards are traditions not only in Britain.

It is preceded by forty days of Lent. Shrove Tuesday, also called Pancake Day, is the last day before the period of fasting which starts on Ash Wednesday.
 
The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday. This is the beginning of Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. In Britain, the Queen takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy. This involves the distribution of Maundy Money to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community. They receive ceremonial red and white purses which contain coins made especially for the occasion. The white purse contains one coin for each year of the monarch's reign. The red purse contains money in place of other gifts that used to be given to the poor. 

BBC: Queen distributes Maundy coins 

Maundy Thursday is followed by Good Friday. It is celebrated as a bank holiday, when people do not go to work. Britons eat the so called hot cross buns containing currants and marked with a cross.
An old rhyme was often sung by children awaiting their sugary treat:

"Hot cross buns,
hot cross buns,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns.

If you do not like them,
give them to your sons,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns."

Easter hot cross buns recipe
Hot cross buns - przepis po polsku
Vierablu na swoim blogu o hot cross buns 

On Easter Sunday, which is the Christian feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, people eat Easter eggs. Many families gather together at dinner and organize egg hunts. Children have a lot of fun looking for dyed eggs hidden in the house and in the garden.  

A traditional way of breaking the Lenten fast is to eat some simnel cake. These are raised cakes, with a crust made of fine flour and water, coloured yellow with saffron, and filled with a very rich plum-cake, with plenty of candied lemon peel, and dried fruits.
Przepis na Simnel cake 

The day after Easter Sunday is known as Easter Monday. It is also a bank holiday in the UK. In some areas "egg rolling" is still popular today. People take the eggs to the top of a hill and roll them down. The first egg to get to the foot of that hill is the winner.

Vocabulary:
- be preceded by - być poprzedzonym przez
- Lent - Post
- Shrove Tuesday - tłusty wtorek
- the period of fasting - okres postu
- Ash Wednesday - Środa Popielcowa
- Palm Sunday - Niedziela Palmowa
- Holy Week - Wielki Tydzień
- Maundy Thursday - Wielki Czwartek
- take part in - brać udział w
- distribution - rozdawanie
- deserving senior citizens - potrzebujący starsi obywatele
- sovereign - monarcha/monarchini
- ceremonial white and red purses - tradycyjne białe i czerwone sakiewki
- contain - zawierać
- coins - monety
- the monarch's reign - panowanie monarchy/monarchini
- in place of - zamiast, w zamian za
- the poor - biedni
- be followed by - po którym następuje
- Good Friday - Wielki Piątek
- bank holiday - dzień wolny od pracy w Wielkiej Brytanii
- so called - tak zwane
- hot cross buns - wielkanocne bułeczki
- currants - rodzynki
- marked with a cross - oznaczone krzyżem
- rhyme - rymowanka/wierszyk
- awaiting - oczekując
- penny - pens
- Easter Sunday - Niedziela Wielkanocna
- the Ressurection of Jesus - Zmartwychwstanie Jezusa
- gather- gromadzić się, zbierać
- egg hunts - polowanie na wielkanocne jajka
- dyed eggs - farbowane/kolorowe jajka
- hidden (od czasownika hide - ukryć) - ukryte
- the Lenten fast - Wielki Post
- simnel cake - wielkanocny keks z marcepanem
- crust- warstwa
- saffron - szafran
- candied lemon peel - kandyzowana skórka z cytryny
- dried fruits - suszone owoce
- Easter Monday - Poniedziałek Wielkanocny
- egg rolling - turlanie jajek
- hill - wzgórze, pagórek