English, baby!

Easter

Date: Apr 10 2009

Themes: Holidays

Grammar: Gerunds vs. Infinitives

Go Super!

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

For Christians, Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year. But for non-Christian and secular Americans, it’s kind of a weird one. This Sunday, people all over the US are going to hunt for colored eggs in their yards that were left there by a rabbit. You read that correctly.

People celebrate Easter with an Easter egg hunt. They dye eggs and then hide them so that other people can try to find them. Children like Easter because they usually get a basket full of chocolate eggs, which a giant bunny supposedly delivers to them. For college students, Easter means spring break, a week of no school and lots of partying. Now, just don’t ask what all this has to do with Jesus Christ and the resurrection!

Devan loves Easter, but Mason isn’t a fan. Listen to them discuss this unique holiday.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Mason

Devan

Mason: So Easter is coming up, which is, you know, lame.

Devan: Lame, what do you mean lame?

Mason: I have a very conflicting relationship with Easter because it falls on my birthday one every three years.

Devan: Oh, when’s your birthday?

Mason: April 16th. So you know, I have these bad memories of none of my friends being able to come to my party because they had to go do lame Easter things.

Devan: Like Easter egg hunts or dyeing Easter eggs?

Mason: Yeah, all that crap. Totally lame.

Devan: Yeah, I don’t know. I think Easter’s great. I love getting an Easter basket, and you always have your chocolate Easter bunny in your basket, and I love doing the Easter egg hunt. One year I found the golden egg and I won a prize.

Mason: See this is another thing, I mean, as a bunny-owner in my older years, bunnies don’t lay eggs. Just another inaccuracy.

Devan: Do you know how they celebrate it in France? It’s a giant bell that drops off the baskets.

Mason: A bell?

Devan: Like a Liberty Bell. So if you think a rabbit laying eggs is weird, try having a bell.

Grammar Point

Go Super to learn "Gerunds vs. Infinitives" from this lesson

Quizzes

Go Super to take Quiz

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3

Go Super to Ask Ebaby! teachers your questions!

The iTEP^® test

Sponsored by

Schedule an iTEP^® test and take the official English Practice Test.
Take Now >

Discussion

This Sunday is Easter, and Mason isn’t looking forward to it. His birthday sometimes gets ignored because it falls on the same day as Easter, which is always on a Sunday in the spring.

Mason also thinks that the way we celebrate Easter is weird. Unlike Devan, he doesn’t enjoy dyeing Easter eggs or going on Easter egg hunts. He doesn’t understand the connection between bunnies and eggs. But as Devan points out, other countries have their own interesting ways of celebrating this holiday.

One reason bunnies and eggs are a part of Easter celebrations is that the holiday is associated with spring. Do you have a spring holiday or festival in your country? How do you celebrate it?

Comments

< Previous
41 through 60 of 109
Next >
1 2 3 4 5 6

nevardo

Colombia

it is very interesting this lesson. Here in my country Colombia exactly in Medellin, we are very religious people and we celebrate going to our churches, praying; for instance in our church like christians, we plan a special program which include praying to our God in order to bring no christian people to our church, sharing the gospel and invite them to accept our Lord Jesus Christ as the savior and Lord of their lives. and if they accept willingly then we teach them how to live their lives in accordance with the word of God.

It a is challenge to share with someone the word of God. we take off two days of the week, usually 4 four days because most of us do not work on Saturday nor on sunday; because of that this party become a really vacations and people go to the beach or farm instead of celebrate the Easter.

like a special spring party we have the flower parade, it is a international celebration where people enjoy very much. there are exhibitions of different kind of flowers, birds, food, old cars and so on.

this is just here in Medellin, the rest of the countries in Colombia, have different celebrations.

ioomeli

Uruguay

tomorrow is easter in Uruguay, i am happy. i like chocolate!

good lesson :)

meli

alogigi

United States

most ppl in US dont know what this Sunday really means, is beyond haunting silly eggs and bunnies.

it seems ppl forget who Jesus was what Jesus did

hugs

inken

Ukraine

The lesson was pretty informative coz in here we have different traditions of celebrating the holiday. We have an Orthodox Easter which will take place April 19 this year. But still, for those who are having it this week I wish Happy Easter!)))

zeinabou

Egypt

Easter in Egypt dates to Pharaos period southands of years ago they used to celebrate it by eating salted fish ~~green onions~~ dyed eggs and some herbs known in Egypt till now.. Egyptians celebrate in the same way nowadays ..some people take a nile cruise others go to gardens we can say that it is one of the most popular feast in Egypt it is always on monday {extremist muslims dont cntribute }

profashion1014

Taiwan

What a marvelous holiday!!!

Though in our contry doesn't have this holiday,

but i think if i lived in the US,

i'll have fun on this day!!!

michael88

China

As a christian, I must celebrate Easter. You know that the resurrection of Jesus signifies that the human being have a new life.

The culture of the east is very different from the culture of the west, so I think the ways of celebration in China donot like the west's, no colorful eggs or egg hunt or Easter holidays which are very interesting to me. To me, all of us are the children of the God, but just the ways of giving our love to the God are different. We all hope that the God likes us and accepts our love.

It is Easter Sunday tomorrow, and I will go to the church. Happy Easter, everyone!

cheekyangel

Philippines

here on our country..

we do have spring holiday and festival at the same time..

dyeing eggs with different colors…

hmm..that's all I know..hehe :D

anyway..HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY TO ALL ^^

monica_sc

China

We don't have Easter day.But it seems to intresting and funny.I wish i can join in it .

alLblue

China

We don't have Easter celebration ,but I wish we have ,then there will be couples of day off . :)

alLblue

China

We don't have Easter celebration ,but I wish we have ,then there will be couples of day off . :)

Christoph07

Germany

Yes Easter celebration is a typically spring party for Christians. But also non Christians are celebrating this in countries with high christian celebration. Its much of fun for children and parents. And "hurray" – we have pretty weather here. These time are high times for Christians and many pacifists are demonstrating against militarism and war. This is a new tradition in Germany since Cold War.

"Frohe Ostern"

murat5234

Turkey

I liked the lesson. I didn't know much about easter before. Useful for non-christians.

One thing about the lesson, the voices of the speakers could have been louder.

Thanks all of those who made efforts to prepare this lesson.

murat5234

Turkey

Happy Easter to All the Christians

huairenchang

China

In our china we have many festivals now but spring festival is the most important and splendid we have dinner together with our families。so during the festival many people will go back home to enjoy the reuniter。

shimaa mohammed

Egypt

In Egypt we have a festival in spring. It's name

Spring festival. It's the ancient festival of the Pharaohs.

In this festival we colorful eggs and we eat salting fish.

mi young

South Korea

As I concerned, there is no celebration like easter in Korea. Easter is not that big a celebration, I think it is usually celebrated in church. But, in the spring there are many local festival like flower festival things like that related with spring.

When I was young, eventhogh I'm secular, I went to church and I remembered that I recieved some eggs. At that time, I didn't know the egg's meaning. ^ ^; Until now, I'm a little vague about Easter, but it's a good celebration, because many people enjoy it!! I think the best festival is that as many as people enjoy and like it :)

otgoo_a

Mongolia

i don"t know easter

gkabiri

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

happy easter to all christians. but iranian have another celebration in spring. new year in iran begins with first day of spring. we have 5 day hollyday for new year named" nowrouz".nowrouz has been celebrated in iran for at least 3000 years and is the oldest celebration in the wold.