Easter is one of the best times to celebrate and share our faith with family and friends. There are many historical traditions in observing this holiest of days. Many people observe Lent with some type of self-sacrifice and fasting to prepare for Easter. The church I grew up in passed out little Lenten boxes for us to put money in each day from giving up something so the money could be given to a good cause. Does anyone else remember the Easters gone-by when we as little girls (and ladies) wore new dresses, gloves and hats? Easter Sunday,the church would be beautifully decorated , the music was wonderful, and you knew this was a very special day. Coloring and finding Easter eggs was also a big part of Easter. (Those chocolate bunnies that were big and hollow inside were amazing!) A big Easter dinner with the best dishes, family and an egg hunt would follow. I was fortunate as a child to have been taught the amazing story of God's love even to sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross--but coming back to life to live with us always!
Easter is the key to our promise of new life. God puts signs all around us of resurrection--life coming out of the cold, dark dead of winter. Spring flowers, budding trees, birth of little animals and birds are evidence that new life is His plan. I love that God has put such extravagent beauty around us to celebrate His Son's resurrection and the new life we can have in Him!
Help those around you, little and older alike, reflect on the meaning of Easter and new life using some of these ideas.
Palm Sunday-(This Sunday, March 28) Make or order palm branches from a florist for the elementary students at your church. My church did this when I was a child, and I try to do it for the kids at our church. If you can organize them singing Hosanna or waving their branches before church, it really reminds everyone of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. (Be discerning about when to pass them out--no "sword" fights during the service)
Easter tree-At home, find a tree branch with lots of little branches and "plant" it in a decorative or spray painted can held with rocks or plaster of paris. Leave the branch natural, or spray paint it white. You can hang little eggs, ribbon bows, Bible verses, and small silk flowers from the small branches. This makes a great Easter decoration or centerpiece.
Easter Eggs--one of my favorite Easter traditions! I loved doing this with my kids. If you want eggs to last, blow the "insides" out of holes you put in raw eggs, dye in egg color, then tie with ribbons on Easter tree or place in a basket. Use hard boiled eggs for kids to color--you can write their names on the eggs with white crayon first before dyeing and use them for "place cards" for Easter breakfast or dinner. Talk about eggs as a symbol of new life and why we use them at Easter. (Check out Kim's Food for Thought blog for her ideas on the Easter tree and Easter eggs.)
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Resurrection cookies-this was a recipe I received over the internet several years ago and though I can not find the original, it is a great object lesson and fun to do with kids. Use a meringue cookie recipe. Gather the kids/students and proceed. (It helps if you've already read and explained the events of Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Sunday first)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Separate the whites from 2 eggs into the appropriately sized mixing bowl.
Give one of the kids a wooden spoon to beat the whites. Explain that this symbolizes the beating Jesus suffered when He was arrested and tried.
Add cream of tartar (1/4 tsp. per egg white, so 1/2 tsp.) and say that this is a bitter substance like the vinegar soldiers gave Jesus to drink on the cross. (Have more kids beat this in)
Next, add 1/4 tsp. salt reminding us of the tears of Jesus' followers upon His death.
(For flavor purposes, you can add 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
Beat egg white mixture with electric mixture until stiff peaks form, then add 1/2 c. sugar. This symbolizes the white of the linen grave cloths and the sweetness that was to come from the grave.
Drop meringue by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
Put cookie sheets into oven, which is like putting Jesus body into the dark tomb.
Turn off oven, and put a piece of tape across oven door opening to "seal it shut", just as the stone was rolled in front of the tomb to seal it. (The cookies will continue to dry out in oven overnight)
The next morning, open the oven door after unsealing the tape, and pull out a sweet Easter surprise. Explain how Jesus' followers got a wonderful surprise when they saw the opened tomb and Jesus alive!
Good Friday-many churches have special services to commemorate Jesus' suffering and death on the cross. I read once that you can't really have the full joy of Easter until you reflect on the events of the cross and mourn. This is a somber service and a good time for self-examination--what things should you lay at the cross that are keeping you from experiencing the love and joy of Jesus? One idea to observe Good Friday is that evening in your home, everything is quiet and dark, just as Jesus' believers were quiet and their world was dark upon his death. No t.v., computer, ipods, random cell phone conversations, just silence. Light candles, turn down or off regular room lights and gather together to read the Biblical account of Holy Week. Doing this for an evening,or even an hour or two, makes the joy of Easter morning more meaningful.
On Easter moning, be sure to greet each other with the traditional greeting:"He Is Risen", and the response: "He is risen indeed".
Check out other Spring ideas involving kids/family in the Home Matters blog.
