Both the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover take place next month. Here’s a “The Best…” list sharing my picks for the best online resources out there about these holidays that are accessible to English Language Learners (you can also find them on my website under Religion):
As usual, the History Channel has excellent Easter resources, including online videos.
The CBBC Newsround has a variety of accessible Easter resources.
The Easter Bunny Rap is fast, but entertaining.
Speaking of the Easter Bunny, you can see a picture of him/her hugging George W. Bush and, on the same page, view a slideshow of the annual White House Egg Roll.
MES-Games has another fun activity to learn Easter words.
How Stuff Works has quite a bit of accessible information on How Easter Works.
Learn how Easter is celebrated around the world.
And here’s a slideshow showing how it’s celebrated in different countries.
EL Civics has a good Easter Lesson for ESL students.
The New York Times has a slideshow on Good Friday activities.
Easter’s Global Reach is a slideshow from MSNBC.
Topmarks has some great Easter materials
Here’s a photo gallery of weird Easter Eggs.
Reuters has a video showing Palm Sunday in Rome and Jerusalem.
A Brief History of Semana Santa is a slideshow from TIME Magazine highlighting how Holy Week is celebrated in Latino communities.
The Sun Sentinel newspaper in Florida has created a neat graphic It’s called Natural Hues that shows pictures of amazingly colorful bird eggs that look that way naturally. They certainly compete with colored Easter eggs!
From Egg To Art is a slideshow from the Wall Street Journal.
Holy Week is a similar series of photos from the Boston Globe’s The Big Picture.
Watch a video from the Wall Street Journal about a crazy Easter egg celebration.
Here are The Top Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Easter from TIME Magazine.
Easter, 2009 is another series of slideshows from The Big Picture.
Easter Celebrated Around The World is yet one more slideshow from The Wall Street Journal.
Holy Week Around the World is a slideshow from ABC News.
In pictures: Mexico passion play is from the BBC.
Holy Week in Seville is a slideshow from Reuters.
Hooded penitents take part in hundreds of processions throughout Spain in celebration of Holy week is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
Christians Mark Holy Week is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee.
Easter Celebrations Around The World is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
Holy Week is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal.
Peeps Show IV is a fun slideshow from The Washington Post.
Holy Week is a series of photos from The Boston Globe’s Big Picture.
Good Friday Around The World is a New York Times slideshow.
Holy Week is a slideshow from The Washington Post.
An annual Good Friday parade in the D.C. area is another Washington Post slideshow.
CNN has a video of the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House.
Easter Baskets For Needy Kids is another video from CNN.
How’s the bunny connected to Easter? is a short article from MSNBC.
An Easter Egg Hunt for the Blind is a video from ABC.
Easter Celebrations Around The World is a slideshow from CNN.
Easter Celebrated Around The World is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.
First Family Kicks Off Annual Easter Egg Roll is a video from MSNBC.
Obamas host Easter Egg Roll at the White House is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
Happy Easter is a nice infographic from The Sun-Sentinel.
Easter By The Numbers is a fun infographic.
Splash! Men throw buckets of water as women run past, in Hungary is the title of a series of photos from MSNBC about a Hungarian Easter tradition.
In Spain, Women Find a Place in the Procession is a New York Times slideshow.
Easter egg art celebrities by John Lamouranne is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
People nailed to crosses in Good Friday ritual is from MSNBC.
In Focus: Holy Week around the World is a series of photos from The Denver Post.
Here’s a video about Good Friday in Jerusalem:
In Rio’s reimagined Passion Play, drug lords kill Christ comes from CNN.
Photos: Easter around the world is from CNN.
Where Does The Easter Bunny Come From is the title of this CNN video:
Holy Week and Easter, 2011 is a series of photos from The Atlantic.
Easter ceremonies is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee.
White House Easter Egg Roll hosted by the Obamas is from MSNBC.
First family hosts White House Easter Egg Roll is a slideshow from The Washington Post.
Easter Egg Hunt Canceled Due To Aggressive Parents is from NPR.
Here are the winners of Washington Post’s 2012 “Peeps Diorama Contest” (In case you’re wondering, Peeps are a popular Easter candy).
Nobody Minds Dyeing the Egg, but the Chicken Is Another Story is from The New York Times.
Palm Sunday observed around the world is a photo gallery from MSNBC.
Chocolate is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but for the children working in slavery conditions in cacao fields across West Africa’s Ivory Coast, the reality behind it is anything but sweet.
Some 70 to 75 percent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world’s hunger for chocolate.
The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween – 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season.
So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family’s Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away?
You can read the rest of the article, which also has a video, which I’ve embedded below:
Nine Things You Didn’t Know About Your Easter Candy is a slideshow from TIME.
CNN has tons of Easter-related videos. Just click on “CNN videos.”
Read about the Eggbot at The Atlantic, and watch it in action below.
Good Friday around the world – in pictures is from The Guardian.
Easter week around the world – in pictures is from The Guardian.
Good Friday Traditions Across the Globe is a slideshow from TIME.
Marking Christianity’s Holiest Week is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.
Good Friday observed around the world is a photo gallery from The Sacramento Bee.
Easter Around the World is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.
Holy Week and Easter, 2012 is a photo gallery from The Atlantic.
Easter and Holy Week is a photo gallery from The Boston Globe.
Eggs Become Art To Celebrate Life’s Rebirth is a neat slideshow from NPR.
Images of Good Friday 2013 is from The Sacramento Bee.
Easter Around the World is a photo gallery from ABC News.
Photos: Easter around the world is from CNN.
Awkward Family Photos Make Easter Seem Especially Strange is from The Huffington Post.
Is Easter about Jesus or bunnies? Both, actually is from Vox.
Christians Mark Good Friday Around The World is a NBC News photo gallery.
Busted! 81 percent of parents steal Easter candy from their kids is also from NBC.
Week of observances is a photo gallery from The Boston Globe.
Who, What, Why: Why is Good Friday called Good Friday? is from The BBC.
The Easter Rocket War of Vrontados is a photo gallery from The Atlantic.
An Animation Of Easter Chocolate – Teaching Media, Finance, & Global Trade is from The ASIDE Blog.
Again, the History Channel has great resources on Passover.
Here’s an interactive graphic from the Orange County Register on Passover.
The CBBC Newsround also has accessible resources.
The ESL Free Press gives a very accessible overview of both Easter and Passover.
You can see a Virtual Seder Plate here.
And here’s another virtual Seder Plate.
The BBC has a good site, though it’s probably only accessible to high Intermediate or Advanced English Language Learners.
You can send a Passover E-Card at Blue Mountain.
Every twenty-seven years Jews celebrate a ritual called The Blessing Of The Sun. This year, 2009, it coincidentally occurred on the eve of Passover, so I’m including resources about it on this list. You can see a slideshow about it from the Wall Street Journal, and a series of images from the Sacramento Bee.
Passover preparations are underway is a slideshow from The Washington Post.
From Indian Jews to Jewish Bears: A Passover Photo Gallery is from The Atlantic.
Passover: The Jewish Holiday Explained is the title of this CNN video:
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Passover is from TIME.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews Prepare For Passover is a TIME slideshow.
Passover: A Time to Grow Students’ Vocabulary and Aspirations is from Edutopia.
You don’t see this everyday — the Passover story told through a Rube Goldberg Machine.
Feel free to offer additional suggestions.
If you found this post useful, you might want to check out my other “The Best…” lists.
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