Spring Festivals Pancake Day It is the Tuesday before Lent begins. In the past, people made pancakes to use all their eggs, butter, milk and sugar before a period of fasting. Today, people make pancakes and have pancakes races.

Easter Easter was originally a pagan celebration when people celebrated the return of Spring. The word Easter came from Eostre, the name of the pagan goddess of fertility. On Easter Sunday people receive chocolate eggs, because they represent new life.

May Day May Day is on the 1st May. It was a Roman celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowers and fruit. Maypole dancing is a popular tradition: on May Day people dance around the Maypole to traditional folk music.

Morris dancing is also very popular on May Day Morris dancing is also very popular on May Day. The dancers are usually men in groups of six or eight. They wear white clothes and they have little bells around their knees.