Not Many Wise

Christian festivals through the year RE resources

The children will be given an overview of the Church Calendar with the mainstream Christian seasons and festivals, plus some lesser-known and also specific ones to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Table of Contents:

1. Teacher’s background information.

Many churches, like the Anglican Church (Church of England), Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, follow the Church Calendar with its seasons and Christian festivals throughout the year.
Some of the ‘Nonconformist’ / ‘Free churches’ could celebrate a few of them.
The Christian Church year consists of these festivals:

  • Advent is seen as a time of preparation, looking back and forward.
  • Christmas Day celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
  • Candlemas celebrates the baby Jesus being presented in the Temple.
  • Epiphany celebrates the Magi (Wise Men) visiting the baby Jesus.
  • The Annunciation celebrates the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus.
  • Shrove Tuesday, known as Pancake Day, and then Lent, remembering Jesus’ 40 days of fasting.
  • Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.
  • Mothering Sunday, the celebration of motherhood.
  • Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.
  • Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
  • Maundy Thursday, Jesus’ last supper with his disciples.
  • Good Friday remembers when Jesus was betrayed, given a fake trial and crucified.
  • Easter Sunday, when Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to many people.
  • Ascension Day remembers when Jesus was taken up into heaven.
  • Pentecost (Whit Sunday or Whitsun) celebrates when the Holy Spirit came upon the fearful disciples.
  • Trinity Sunday celebrates that God is three persons, One God.
  • Harvest Festival. A celebration of bringing in the farm crops.
  • Colours of the Church explains what colours are used, when, and why.

2. Lesson plans and resources for Christian festivals through the year.

[a] Christian festivals through the year. The lesson plan is a downloadable PDF document to present to the children. (Opens in a new tab).

[b] Christian festivals through the year lesson plan is a PowerPoint slideshow, viewable or downloadable for teachers to show the children. (Opens in a new tab on www.slideshare.net) (Same material as the PDF above).

[c] Christian festivals through the year lesson plan, a video with different speakers presenting the lesson. Be prepared to pause the video when a question is being asked: (Same material as the PDF above).

3. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘Christian festivals through the year lesson plan’

Hopefully, you will be able to match your local agreed syllabus with what is here.

This lesson plan is based on the UK RE Attainment Targets.
Here is the Mapping Grid for the Attainment Target Categories:

  • Sacred Texts – stories, scriptures, parables, teachings
  • Beliefs – ideas about God, truth, meaning, purpose
  • Practices – worship, prayer, festivals, rituals, lifestyle
  • Identity – belonging, community, worldview, personal reflection
  • Values – moral ideas, attitudes, virtues
  • Living – how beliefs affect actions and everyday life

🎯 Why This Grid Works for UK Schools
✔ Matches Agreed Syllabus expectations
✔ Supports progression from KS1 to KS2
✔ Aligns with Ofsted language (knowledge, understanding, impact)
✔ Works for lesson planning, assessment, and inspection evidence
✔ Non-political, non-denominational, UK-appropriate

For many local syllabi, in KS1, Christianity plus at least one other major religion is studied.
Effective RE should combine:

  • knowledge (stories, beliefs, practices)
  • understanding (why people believe/do what they do)
  • reflection (personal response, values, empathy).

Typical Key Questions for KS1
Here are common “core/enquiry” questions or themes that appear in most KS1 agreed syllabi:

  1. “Who am I?” (Identity).
  2. “What does it mean to belong?” (Belonging).
  3. “What makes some people so important?” (Important people).
  4. “Where did we come from / how did the world begin?” (Simple beliefs).
  5. “What makes some stories so important to different people?” (Sacred books).
  6. “Why are festivals, symbols or special stories important?” (Stories & moral values).
  7. “Why are some places so important?” (Important places).

These then required merging within the Assessment Aims, but as can be seen, there had to be some overlapping of the themes/core questions:

  • ASSESSMENT AIM: 1. SACRED TEXTS (Stories, Scriptures, parables & teachings) – [SACRED TEXTS & WHO AM I?]
  • ASSESSMENT AIMS: 2. BELIEFS (Ideas about God, truth, meaning & purpose) – CREATION & IMPORTANT PEOPLE]
  • ASSESSMENT AIM: 3. PRACTICES (worship, prayer, festivals, rituals & lifestyle) – [FESTIVALS & PLACES]
  • ASSESSMENT AIM: 4. IDENTITY (belonging, community, worldview & personal reflection) – [BELONGING & IDENTITY]
  • ASSESSMENT AIMS: 5. VALUES (moral ideas, attitudes, virtues, right & wrong) – [FESTIVALS & BELONGING]
  • ASSESSMENT AIMS: 6. LIVING (how beliefs affect actions and everyday life) – [IMPORTANT PEOPLE & FESTIVALS]

Each assessment had its own set of questions to answer. These are included in each lesson plan, which is suitable for that particular subject.