Easter Celebrations and the Museum of Childhood Ireland

Eastertime in Ireland blends religious significance with cultural traditions that particularly resonate with children and recall memories for older citizens. The Museum of Childhood Ireland, Músaem Óige na hÉireann serves as a cultural institution that preserves and celebrates these childhood experiences and traditions.

The Diceman, Grafton Street, Dublin, dressed as a Bewley’s chocolate Easter Egg. Photo via Aidan Herdman

Easter in Irish Culture

Easter represents an important celebration in Ireland, where it combines deep tradition with folk customs. For children, it’s a time of particular excitement featuring:

Easter egg hunts in homes and public parks
Painted, decorated or dyed hens eggs for breakfast
Chocolate Easter eggs and treats
Traditional games like egg rolling competitions
Family gatherings and special meals, including roast lamb and Simnel cake
New Easter outfits ( and bonnets!) or “Sunday best” clothes
School holidays that coincide with the Easter period

The Museum of Childhood Ireland

The Museum of Childhood Ireland documents and preserves the experiences, artifacts, and cultural heritage related to Irish childhood across generations. While primarily a “museum without walls” currently operating through exhibitions, events, and educational programs, it is in the process of establishing a permanent physical location where the museum will showcase Easter-related childhood traditions through:

Historical artifacts showing how Easter celebrations for children have evolved
Documentation of traditional Easter games and activities
Collections of Easter cards, decorations, and memorabilia
Oral histories from different generations describing their Easter experiences
Educational, Cultural and Creative programmes teaching traditional Easter crafts and customs

These celebrations represent important childhood memories for many people across Ireland and amongst the diaspora, making them a natural focus for the Museum of Childhood Ireland’s cultural preservation work. By documenting these traditions, the museum helps connect contemporary children with cultural practices that have shaped childhood experiences for generations and gives voice to children now.

Easter 2025 Decoration making and egg hunt from the Museum of Childhood Ireland! With thanks to Faber-Castell for the art materials.

Easter 2024, Basket making, on Saturday 23rd March. In preparation for the upcoming Easter egg hunt at St Audeon’s, come and make your own basket for collecting eggs!

Spring into Activity at Audoen’s Park, Dublin on Saturday 30th March. Join the Museum of Childhood Irelands’s Dakota and Sofia, for a day of fun!

https://www.dublincity.ie/residential/parks/dublin-city-parks/visit-park/st-audoens-park

St. Audeon’s Park sits alongside St. Audoen’s Church at Cornmarket in Dublin city centre. The park features Dublin’s original stone walls and the last surviving entrance to the old city.

Easter Egg Hunt: The volunteers will hide the eggs before the activity out of view of the children. Two rounds will be done and the children will be split up by age. The younger children will go first and the older second. The children will line up at the designated start point and released on the count of three. There will be 15 minutes to find the eggs for each round. Each child participates once for the sake of fairness. Once the younger children are done the game will be set up for the older children and the rules repeated.

Three-legged race: This is a partner game. As many pairs can participate as the space allows. A start line and a finish line are established. Two people stand next two each other and their inside legs are tied together. The pairs line up at the start line and are released on the count of three. The pair then must work together with their now “three legs” to cross the finish line. First pair to cross wins.

What do children learn from the Three-Legged race game?

Hand-eye co-ordination.
Gross motor skills and improved fitness.
Fun and co-operative play.

Parachutes:

How to play the Popcorn Parachute Game:

Place the Parachute on the ground and place all the toys and balls in the centre of the Parachute.
Have each child pick up one of two of the Parachute’s handles.
As the leader, let the children know to lift in unison on the count of 3.
Once lifted, each child needs to flip the parachute up and down.
The toys in the center of the Parachute with begin to “jump” up and down like popcorn being popped.
The object of the game is to work together to keep the toys jumping and prevent them falling off the Parachute

Under the Sea Parachute Game:

Put a variety of small toys in a box.
Place the box under the Parachute.
Choose one player to be the Diver. They will stand outside of the circle until they are called.
Have each player pick up one or two Parachute handles.
On the count of three, have the players generate “waves” in the Parachute by moving their arms up and down.
Each player takes a turn telling the Diver which toy to retrieve from the “Treasure Box” under the sea.
The Diver rushes under the Parachute, sifts through the box and emerges from the water.
The game can either continue with each child holding the Parachute getting a turn at instructing the Diver, or another child can take their turn as Diver.

A fun STEM skill-building twist: Ask the children to predict how balls and toys of different weights will behave within the Parachute. It’s an early lesson in mass and gravity!

What do children learn from the Parachute Game? Working as a group towards a common goal is a valuable life skill that children learn from games, including the Parachute Game. Not only does each player have to literally hold up their end of the play, but they also have to communicate effectively and coordinate their movements to compliment that of neighbouring players. Children also build gross locomotor skills during play with a Parachute and develop hand-eye coordination. They will use a variety of muscles as they test the effect of different movements on the movement of the Parachute.

Annual decorations at MCI

Traditional Simnel cake at MCI

Recipe:

225g of organic butter
225g of soft brown organic sugar
6 organic eggs
275g of organic white flour
1 teaspoon of mixed spices
50 ml of Irish whiskey
350g of currants
350g of raisins
350g of sultanas
110g of glacé cherries
110g of candied peel
50g of organic chopped almonds
70g of organic ground almonds
rind of 1 lemon
rind of 1 orange
1 large apple, grated

Almond Paste:

600g of organic ground almonds
500g of organic castor sugar
3 medium sized organic eggs
2 drops of almond extract
50ml of Irish whiskey

To decorate:

Apricot jam, ribbon, decorations etc

‍Method:

Line the base and sides of a round 23cm tin with brown and greaseproof paper.

Mix the dried fruit, nuts, ground almonds, grated orange and lemon rind. Add 25ml of whiskey and leave aside to develop for 1 hour.

Make the paste:

Mix sugar and ground almonds. Beat eggs and add. Add the remaining 25ml of whiskey. Add 2 drops of almond essence. Mix all together into a firm paste. Sprinkle the work surface with icing sugar and work the paste until smooth. Cut the paste into 3 equal pieces and roll two of the pieces into 21.5cm rounds. Make 11 equal sized balls of paste from the remaining piece. Leave aside until required.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Cream the butter until soft, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the eggs and add, beating well so the mixture doesn’t curdle. Mix the spice with the flour and fold in gently. Add the grated apple to the fruit and be careful to fold in gently.

Put half of the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Place one of the circles of almond paste on top of the cake mixture and then cover with the remaining cake mixture. Make a slight hollow in the centre. Pat cold water across ( use your hand) the surface of the cake to ensure that the top is smooth when cooked. Cover the top with brown paper.

Place in the preheated oven; reducing the heat to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 after an hour. Bake until cooked, 3 – 3 1/2 hours approximately. Test the centre with a skewer – it should come out completely clean. Leave in the tin to cool completely.

Brush the top of the cake lightly with some apricot jam and top with the second almond paste circle. Brush the paste with beaten egg yolk, arrange the paste ball ‘apostles’ around the outer edge and also brush with beaten egg. Toast in a preheated oven 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 for approximately 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

When completely cold, wrap in clean greaseproof paper and aluminium foil until required. Decorate as desired before eating.

The Simnel cake can be stored well for several weeks.