Easter is a big deal in Australia. We always kick out Easter celebrations with the Easter Hat parades at school. This usually involves some creative (and at times painful hot glue!!) crafting with glitter, ribbons and beautiful Easter embellishments. Check out what we made and proudly paraded off last year.
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The kids loved making the hats and parading them off at school. I got some plastic hats and foam stickers, little bunnies (so cute!) and the kids went to town sticking them on. Elmer’s glue actually worked well, and I didn’t have to hot glue gun anything at all.
Despite being a non-Christian family, the significance of Easter is not lost on us. Certainly, we enjoy the joyous and messy Easter egg hunt. (In sunny Australia, its a race against time to find the chocolate eggs before they melt!!) At the same time, we also seek to understand the real story behind Easter. To encourage diversity, I think it is best to expose them to different religions, ways of thinking, cultures etc. This will help expand their thinking about the world and create a more tolerant and understanding generation who will appreciate the differences that each individual have.
Easter in Chinese
Easter Sunday in Chinese is “复活节” literally translated to Resurrection Day. Good Friday in Chinese is “耶稣受难日” the day that Jesus suffered. The Chinese translations are straight to the point!
As you can imagine, it’s quite a difficult concept to teach young children!! So I like to tell the story of Christ and his resurrection as simply as I can, without delving too much into the religious context at this point.
I also like to point out to my children that Easter is about new life, new beginnings which is why an egg is so symbolic.
Please read further to the book list where I recommend English and Chinese books about Easter; the cutesy version and the real story of Easter.
Videos about the Resurrection in Chinese
The following Chinese videos are good for informing the children about true story of Easter, the Resurrection of Christ. Please watch them before you show it to your children. This is not an easy topic to discuss with children, and there will and should have an impact on how they view humanity, so go slow and direct them patiently on its meaning and significance.
復活節的故事 The story of Christ
An animated Chinese version of the story of Christ. The horrors are spoken of and alluded to, but not in too much graphic details.
复活节 - 儿童圣经软件 Story of Christ
*Not recommended for younger children as there is animated blood and pain. This Chinese video follows the events that led to Chirst’s death and his resurrection.
复活节 耶稣故事 节日意义 传统活动
Think of this Chinese Easter video as a mini teaching lesson on the significance of Easter, the story of Christ and activities all in one.
Chinese Easter Videos of a lighter mood (songs for toddlers)
Little Baby Bum Easter Egg Songs
Little Baby Bum videos are simple to sing along to, repetitive and infectious! Great for the little ones to learn new Chinese songs with these cuties.
Peppa Pig Easter Egg Hunt 小猪佩奇 復活節兔子
The adorable Peppa Pig speaks Chinese now in all episodes! Bingewatch and learn Chinese with Peppa and her cute crew. This one follows Peppa and her friends in their Easter egg hunt. The video comes with Chinese subtitles too!
Cocomelon 复活节
Similar to Little Baby Bum, listen to the song and learn Chinese. Bonus feature is the Chinese subtitles.
BluPhant儿童TV -复活节到了
Learn colours and shapes in Chinese with the cute little Easter bunnies
This video is not necessarily related to Easter. However, it is a simple and catchy Chinese nursery rhyme that you and your children can learn.
The lyrics 🎶 are:
“小白兔，白又白，两只耳朵竖起来。
爱吃萝卜，爱吃菜，跑起路来真叫快。”
Hot Cross Bun 热十字面包
Another song to sing at Easter is of course, Hot Cross Bun 热十字面包! It’s a super yummy treat too.
If you would like to download the Chinese and/or English lyrics and sing along at home, please sign up as a member for a copy of the lyrics. There’s more members only Mandarin Chinese resources on the page too!
Key Chinese vocabulary for Easter
Here are 12 key words you should know when it comes to Easter:
- Easter Bunny 复活节兔 fù huó jié tù
- Easter Egg 复活节彩蛋 fù huó jié cǎi dàn
- Basket 篮子 lán zi
- Hunt 搜寻 sōu xún
- Chick 小鸡 xiǎo jī
- Lamb 羊羔 yáng gāo
- Chocolate 巧克力 qiǎo kè lì
- Tulip 郁金香 yù jīn xiāng
- Spring 春天 chūn tiān
- Cross 十字架 shí zì jià
- Jesus 耶稣 yē sū
- Church 教堂 jiào táng
This set of Chinese English Easter flashcards covers all 12 key vocabulary words your child will need to learn about Easter.
I’ve also included pinyin aid for non-chinese speakers.
Available in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Flashcards are a great and versatile teaching tool. This blog post from This Reading Mama will give your plenty of fun and easy teaching ideas on how to use flashcards to teach new vocabulary.
To complement the flashcards, you can get this 12 page workbook which covers:
- matching
- sequencing
- counting
- cutting
- sorting
- comprehension and more!
Available in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Below are some sample pages from the workbook.
You can download and print off the flashcards, vocabulary worksheets and a bonus poster immediately for use, with this Easter Activity Bundle.
Books to learn about Easter in Chinese and English
Reading is a fantastic way to consolidate your home teaching, and to promote a love of reading! As much as possible, for my Mandarin homeschooling, I will also source books on the topic to read to/with my children. Here are some recommendations. To be frank, there are MANY English books on the topic but not too many original Chinese titles.
The only one I have found so far is from Chalk Academy who has a detailed review of the Chinese version of the book Easter by Gail Gibbons. If you find any other Chinese titles on the Easter Story, please let me know!!
Chinese Books about Easter
Written and illustrated by 作者/绘者: 艾力克·希尔
ISBN (Simplified Chinese and English): 978-7544826716
Available for sale at Amazon, and JD.com
ISBN (English) : 978-0723263616
Available for sale at Amazon and Book Depository.
This was one of the first series of bilingual books my children read.
Great for toddlers as it’s a lift the flap book, and keeps their little hands busy. I remember reading Spot as a child, and now here I am reading them to my children. There is something eternally appealing about Spot.
Written and illustrated by 作者/绘者: 比阿特丽克斯·波特
ISBN (Simplified Chinese): 978-7545050868
Available for sale at Amazon, JD.com and Taobao
It’s not Easter if you don’t read about the most famous rabbit in the world. Peter Rabbit, the adorable little rabbit in a blue coat. This version of Peter Rabbit’s Easter egg hunt pops up which makes the hunt even more interesting and engaging.
Written and illustrated by 作者/绘者: Jan Brett 简.布雷特
ISBN (Simplified Chinese): 978-7534067204
Available for sale at Amazon, and JD.com.
ISBN (English): 978-0399252389
Physical copy available for sale at Amazon and Book Depository.
E-copy available for sale at Amazon and Apple.
For Singapore readers, you can borrow the English version electronically from the NLB.
If you only read one book about Easter that is non-religious, this would be the one I highly recommend.
The illustrations are so vivid and beautiful, full of details in each rabbit, each egg, each nook and cranny on the pages. The storyline is so sweet. It’s one of the few rare children’s books that is touching and visually appealing, even for adults.
Easter Chinese Stories on YouTube
复活节兔子绘本故事: Max找小鸡
Based on Rosemary Wells book “Max counts his chicken” narrated in Chinese. Max and Ruby are on the hunt for the missing marshmallow chicks. Count along with them as they find the little chicks (Peeps are an actual marshmallow treats in the US which are shaped like bunnies or chicks. They are simply adorable and tasty!)
不可能先生和寻找复活节彩蛋 Mr Impossible and the Easter Egg Hunt
A Chinese retelling of the book “Mr. Impossible and the Easter Egg Hunt”. Go on an Easter egg hunt with all your favourite Mr Men and Little Miss, see how they use their special strengths to find the Easter eggs.
English Books about Easter
Peppa Pig Easter Books
Written and illustrated by Peppa Pig
There are quite a few Peppa Pig Easter books:
- Peppa the Easter Bunny (ISBN: 978-0241411827)
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository
This is the Peppa Pig Easter book we have at home and is still well-loved 2 years on. You can see why from the sample pages below. The colours are bright and colourful, and Peppa’s family are just the funniest pig family on Earth.
You can also consider:
- Peppa’s Easter Egg Hunt (ISBN: 978-1338327847)
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository.
Ebook available on Apple Books.
- Peppa and George Love Easter! – Little Golden Book (ISBN: 978-0593431450)
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository
Ebook available on Apple Books.
Children aged 2 to 5 will love the Peppa Pig books, no matter which one you get.
Written by Colin Buchanan
Illustrated by Simon Williams
ISBN: 978-1761293054
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository
To live in Australia is to partake in the Easter hat parade! This book is included as a special mention to the uniquely Aussie Easter Hat Parade.
Join the Aussie animals as they create amazing hats from the native flora and fauna of Australia to prance and display their wonderful head pieces in their very first Easter Hat Parade.
Illustrated by Helen Dardik
ISBN: 978-0762492695
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository
Ebook version available on Amazon and Apple Books.
For Singapore readers, you can borrow this electronically from the NLB.
This is a retelling of the classic Bible tale of Easter, starting from Jesus’ last supper to his crucification to his resurrection. It’s suitable for young readers as the text is simple and straightforward, and the graphics are attractive.
Why Easter? with Clive and Ian
Written by Hannah C. Hall
Illustrated by Greg Hardin and Kenny Yamada
ISBN: 978-1546038948
Available at Amazon.
Ebook version available on Amazon and Apple Books.
For Singapore readers, you can borrow this electronically from the NLB.
Part of the book series based on the What’s in the Bible? video series, this book aims to educate young children on key religious teachings from the bible without being preaching.
In this book, we follow Ian and Clive as they decorate Easter eggs, and learn about the real significance of why we celebrate Easter.
This is a nice book to start a conversation about Easter with your children, but it doesn’t actually tell the story of Easter.
The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs
Written and illustrated by Stan Berenstain
ISBN: 978-0375811333
Available at Amazon, and Book Depository
Ebook version available on Amazon and Apple Books.
For Singapore readers, you can borrow this electronically from the NLB.
To tell you the truth, I enjoy reading the Berenstain Bears books myself, I often feel like Mama Bear, the sensible, wise, sometimes disapproving (!) mum who sees and observes everything.
In this book, Brother and Sister Bear are super excited about the Giant Beartown Easter egg Hunt! There are so many amazing prizes to be won, including a life sized chocolate Easter bunny…On the day of the hunt, they find the Easter eggs and something even more meaningful, and realise that Easter is more than chocolate and candies. Similar to the The Easter Egg by Jan Brett, it’s a wonderfully touching story.
If you like this book, also check out the Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story.
Easter Craft Ideas
If you are looking for some simple craft Easter projects, you can check out these two websites
- The Best Idea For Kids – whether you want to make a easter bunny mask, a peek-a-boo chick or a popsicle stick easter basket, here is a nice list of simple crafts for Easter using art materials that you have at home.
- Crazy Little Projects – there are some really cute Easter projects here, like the cotton bud sheep. So cute!
Spot of Sunshine has a beautiful printable activity for Christian families that includes daily verses, a simple activity or craft, and a short prayer.
If crafts are not your thing, and you prefer colouring, you can also download these two FREE Easter colouring workbooks from the Mandarin Homeschool Teacherspayteachers store.
Simple Craft Videos in Chinese for Easter
复活节的小鸡简笔画
Learn how to draw a simple chick hatching out from an Easter egg!
复活节的兔子简笔画
Perhaps you would like to learn how to draw an Easter bunny instead?
復活節11個小活動
11 different Easter craft ideas. Which one will you make first?
Happy Easter to you and your family.
I hope this guide has made your Mandarin homeschooling a tad easier!
