Welcome to Religions of the World. Christianity: The Religion of Christians. The two most important festivals that Christians celebrate are Christmas and Easter. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but Easter is a celebration about the end of Jesus’ life on Earth and the start of his new life in Heaven with God.
The Christian Story of Easter. During his life on Earth, Jesus taught many things that people hadn’t heard before. Huge crowds loved him and he had many friends and followers. But this made a lot of the people who were in charge very jealous and angry. Finally, the leaders had had enough and decided to punish Jesus.
They put him on a cross on a hill, high above the city of Jerusalem. This is called the Crucifixion. When he was crucified, Jesus prayed for the people who were killing him, and forgave them. Jesus died on the cross. Christians remember this on a day called Good Friday. All his friends and followers were very sad. When Jesus died, some wanted to take care of his body so they carried him down from the cross and wrapped him in white cloth and put his body in a burial cave, called a Tomb.
One of Jesus’ best friends, Mary Magdalene and some others, saw where Jesus was buried. They watched as a big stone was rolled across the entrance of the tomb to keep Jesus’ body safe. As the sun was rising on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb with some friends. When they arrived, they saw that the great stone had been rolled away from the tomb.
Mary and her friends couldn’t believe their eyes and they were very frightened. Who could have moved such a big stone? They saw a figure in white in the garden. Could it be an angel? The figure said, “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who had died but he isn’t here. He has risen. He is alive again, just like he said.” The women were very confused. They looked into the tomb and just like the angel said, Jesus’ body had disappeared.
The tomb was empty apart from the clothes that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in. Mary’s friends hurried away, but Mary stayed in the garden, crying. She saw a man in the garden. He asked, “Why are you crying?” Mary thought he was a gardener and said, “I am sad because Jesus’ body has been taken away. Have you taken his body away? Show me where you’ve put him.” The gardener stepped into the sunlight and said, “Mary.”
She recognised him then. It was Jesus, alive again. Mary was so happy that Jesus had risen. Jesus asked her to go and tell all his other friends who he called his disciples, that he had risen from the dead. This day is remembered by the celebration of Easter Sunday.
Mary hurried to tell the disciples the good news but they didn’t believe her. They needed to see Jesus with their own eyes if they were going to believe he really was alive again. Over the next few days, Jesus appeared to all his disciples to prove that he had risen again. He asked them to go out and spread the good news.
After about seven weeks of seeing Jesus alive again, his disciples saw him one last time. He rose up from a mountain top and was hidden by the clouds. Now every year, Christians celebrate Easter to remember Jesus and how he died and then rose from the dead to take his place in Heaven with God.
Video summary
This short animated film for primary schools is part of a series teaching pupils about religions of the world.
This short film focuses on Christianity, and narrates the story of Easter.
It tells the story of Jesus's crucifixion, his rising from the tomb three days later to the delight of his followers, and his ascension to heaven.
The film is bright and colourful and immerses the pupils in the story through a clear, friendly narrative.
This short film is from the BBC series, Religions of the World.
Teacher Notes
This animation could be used to introduce a class discussion on whether Easter is a happy time or a sad time, or both.
In groups, pupils could create freeze frames of different parts of the story, showing clearly how the different characters (Jesus, Mary, the disciples) would have been feeling at that part of the story.
This short film will be relevant for teaching KS1 religious education in England and Northern Ireland, Foundation Phase in Wales, and Early and 1st Level Religious and Moral Education in Scotland.
Video resources for 5-7 year-olds:
Religions of the World. collection
A series of short animated films teaching primary pupils about different religions.
Tales From Around The World. collection
A series of short animated short films for primary schools based on folktales from around the world.
KS1 Science: Explain This. collection
Short films with explanations of key KS1 science topics including the human body, animal life cycles, the food chain, conductors/insulators, solutions and sound.
The Buddhist Story of Siddhartha and the Swan and The Monkey King. video
A short animated film narrating two Buddhist stories.
The Christian Story of the First Christmas. video
A short animated film for primary schools narrating the story of the first Christmas.
The Christian Story of the Good Samaritan and the Lost Sheep. video
A short animated film narrating two Christian stories.
The Hindu Story of Rama and Sita. video
A short animated film narrating one of the main stories of Diwali.
The Islamic Story of The Prophet and the Ants and 'The Crying Camel' video
A short animated film narrating two Islamic stories.
The Five Pillars of Islam. video
A short animated film explaining the Five Pillars of Islam.
The Jewish Story of Moses. video
A short animated film narrating the Jewish story of Moses.
The Jewish Story of Hanukkah. video
A short animated film narrating the Jewish story of Hanukkah.
Sikh Stories. video
A short animated film narrating the Sikh Story of the Milk and the Jasmine Flower and Duni Chand and the Silver Needle.
