On the 13th of April the volunteers did an activity with the kindergarten of Tryavna, Kalina, to celebrate the Easter week, and of course to share with the children the Spanish customs of the Easter week. On this day, we did all the programmed activities in the open air inside the school premises, with the luck that the weather did not worsen.
The activities we carried out were to give a brief explanation among the four volunteers about what Easter week means in Spain, its duration, and the activities that are carried out, including what the children usually do on these special dates, without forgetting of course the delicious sweets and desserts that are eaten on these dates. After this we divided into four groups to do a manual activity, in this case, to draw the flames of the candles that the volunteers had previously made, so that when they were finished we could play a fun and entertaining game. The reward for the effort and teamwork would be a delicious dessert, called „torrija“, typical in Spain at this special time of the year.
What we explained to the children in the first activity on the information about the Spanish customs during Easter Week was that in Spain the majority religion is Catholic Christianity, contrary to Bulgaria, which is Orthodox. We celebrate Easter week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. The date of this week can change from year to year, but always between March and April. During this week, we commemorate the life and death of Jesus, as well as other events in his life. Before this week, many people do other activities such as kissing the hands and feet of statues to show respect to Jesus Christ. Easter week is very famous in Spain because of the processions. Different churches in Spain bring out their statues on a wooden base. Many people belonging to these churches, called “costaleros“, carry this statue on the shoulder. This means that they make some movements with the statue on their shoulders as a symbol of respect and devotion. One person leads the „costaleros“, and makes sure that everything goes well, that the „costaleros“ are well, as they carry many kilos of weight on their shoulders, and that the steps are carried out.
Behind the statue and the „costaleros“ march many people with large candles, dressed in black, and the penitents. These are people who cover their faces and wear a tunic that can be of different colors, with pointed hats. They dress like this as a sign of penitence. A brass band follows this group of people, playing numerous drums and trumpets. The whole group of people marching in solemn remembrance of Christ is a procession. Usually the catholic Christians do this kind of ceremonies. During the processions, the children usually make very large balls of wax with the wax given to them by the people in the procession who carry candles. The children keep the balls of wax when the Easter week is over, so that they can continue making them bigger and bigger for the next Easter week. We thought it was a very nice thing to tell the kindergarten children. During this time of the year, we also eat delicious homemade desserts, such as “torrijas” with honey or sugar, and „bunuelos” with cream. “Torrijas” are pieces of bread soaked in honey, cinnamon and egg, which are fried in a frying pan and then filled with sugar and honey. The “bunuelos” are soft dumplings filled with cream or chocolate, delicious!
After explaining to the children, what Easter is all about, we divided them into four tables, with approximately five or six children at each table, to draw with them the flames of the candles from recycled cardboard cylinders, which we were going to use to make play candles, which we would later use in the game. Each table had a different colored candle cylinder and a poster with a different dessert. The children made their candles, and painted the poster. Each of the volunteers took charge of a group of children, and we set out to play the game.
The game was about having two sheets of paper, which we used to put on the floor. You could only move to a table by those sheets of paper, and leave the candle on the team’s table. The children enjoyed it very much, and even repeated the game several times! Then it was time for dessert, which we are very happy that they liked so much.
Thank you Kalina Kindergarten!
Проектът се финансира с помощта на програма Европейски Корпус на Солидарността към Европейската комисия. Тази публикация отразява вижданията само и единствено на нейния автор. Комисията не носи отговорност за употребата на съдържащата се тук информация.
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