Easter with Meaning

We have a little bit of the same issue and have handled Christmas the same basic way. Our explanation includes that on someone's birthday, it's nice to give them a gift. There's a little bit of Jesus in everyone so on Jesus's birthday, we get to give everyone gifts! As she gets older, we'll add the next step that by receiving gifts at Christmas, she's also keeping her little bit of Jesus inside her and she needs to have values and morals accordingly. My daughter isn't yet 2, so that's a little too much for her to understand yet. :) So far with Easter, we talk about the bunnies and eggs being a symbol of spring and the new life that happens this time of year. We haven't associated either with Easter and don't plan to. There's no reason that a bunny this time of year needs to be known as an "easter bunny" when it's just a bunny. I enjoy baking and have two recipes that you might enjoy. I've done the tomb cookies many times with jr. and sr. high school kids and they seem to really enjoy it. It's also good for kids with sensory issues. Both allow for talking about how Christ changes us through His death and ressurection. We were actually at a brunch this morning and people were talking about the easter bunny etc. and we just talked to our daughter about how fun it was to have brunch with friends and family and ignored the theme of the brunch. It went totally fine and when we did the egg hunt part, she just knew that there were eggs hidden that had things inside. We didn't have to make up a story about who or why they were hidden and as she gets older and wonders about it more, we'll give her the same answer we do about Santa that it's a story that some people like but that it's not the reason our family celebrates the holiday.

Resurrection Rolls

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 large marshmallows
Melted butter
Cinnamon
Sugar
Directions:
Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ.
Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial.
Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow.
Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams)
Bake according to package directions. Cool.
Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there!!

Tomb Cookies
These cookies should be made the evening before Easter.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole pecans
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vinegar
tape
wooden spoon
Bible
zipper bag

VERY IMPORTANT: Preheat oven to 300 degrees (DON"T wait until you are half done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in a zipper bag and let the children beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19: 1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put one teaspoon vinegar into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19: 28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10: 10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into a bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23: 27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Now add one cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loved us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34: 8 and John 3: 16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Issiah 1: 18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27: 57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27: 65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16: 20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28: 1-9.

Our family does the Easter egg hunts and the Easter bunny but it is a Saturday activity for us (we've told the kids that we've talked to the Easter Bunny and made sure he knows that on Sunday we celebrate Christ's resurrection so he comes on Saturday). We also put some fun stuff in their baskets as well as some spiritual stuff. One of the activities I really like doing is the Easter Story cookies that you make Saturday night (it's a good way to transition from the Easter Bunny type Easter to a spiritual one). Here is a copy of it if you don't already have it:

To be made the evening before Easter

* 1cup whole pecans
* 1tsp vinegar
* 3 egg whites
* pinch salt
* 1 cup sugar
* zipper baggie
* wooden spoon
* tape
* Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Hope this helps a little,
C.

My husband and I are of similar mind on this topic. Since my husband loves history we love to tell our children stories of the past and how different cultures celebrate specially marked holidays (St Nick, Estardia,ect. even St. Patrick, Reformation/ Halloween and Allsaints Day). Keeping in mind we should strive to do all we do Joyfully unto the Lord (aka eating the Turkey which God provides, giving gifts to celebrate Jesus birthday remembering that He gave us the greatest gift of all, dying empty eggs to remember the empty tomb, and eating Candy because His story is the sweetest story of all Time). Even the Apostle Paul knew the culture and took full advantage of the mind set of people and used this to Glorify the Lord. Its a great way for children to interact with others during holidays, expressing their love and knowledge for Jesus.
So we teach our children the Truth of the Holiday, How Christ fits in and celebrate in Love, eating candy to the Lord.

I am so glad you asked this on Mamasource. I hope you will get great responses, and I hope God uses your question to touch people's hearts!

My daughter is 3 1/2 and my son is 8 months. When my daughter was about a year old, I got some plain white easter eggs that you can put stuff in. I wrote some Bible verses about the resurrection and death of christ in permanent ink on the outside. Then I found an object having to do with each verse. For example, I put a small round rock in the egg that says "The stone was rolled away!" I have about 8 eggs, and I also put an Easter candy in each one. Every day, I let her open an egg. I read the verse on the outside, she handles the object that goes with the verse and we talk about it while she eats her treat. I keep refilling the eggs and repeating for several weeks before easter. I also have a little easter tree with little egg decorations; she hangs a new decoration on the tree each day--or as often as I remember to do this. She usually reminds me because she wants her daily jelly bean. I always ask her what the egg means and she's learning the answer: New Life!

Hello. We have always told our son that the easter bunny and santa claus were games that people play around the holidays (He didn't even know who they were until he started school). You could check out Focus on the Family's website. I think they have Christ filled ideas on how to celebrate Christ on these important holidays. God bless you

Here is a great blog for you. The family has a range of ages, but this Easter lesson can be done a variety of ways.

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2009/03/resurrec...

The site is great otherwise too. It's a large family, and the mom homeschools and they live on a farm in Idaho. Terrific information.

Happy Easter!

You might want to do some research into the meaning of the Easter symbols (Bunnies, eggs, lillies). I remember learning that eggs represent new life. A lot of Christian symbols were borrowed from pagen symbols. We are Catholic and intend to introduce these meanings as Teresa gets old enough to understands. I am still working on what we will do. How was Easter introduced to you as a child? To me, Easter has special baking that was done (Ex: Babka: a Polish egg bread). Just do a little research and find what you feel comfortable with and enjoy the joy this season is ment to bring.

Hi S.. My husband and I are also Christians and we pretty much do exactly the same thing at Christmas that you described. We even thought that we would make St. Nicholas Day (December 6th) a day where we do a service project as a family and talk about the spirit of St. Nicholas. I have always found great ideas from Family Life Today. They have a ton of helpful info about Easter and they have the resurrection eggs right on their front page right now. Here is the link. My boys were too young last year, but I ordered them ahead of time so that we could do them this year.

http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.3082787/k....

Also, I wanted to let you know about a similar thing that you can do at Christmas time called "What God Wants for Christmas." It is an interactive nativity set where you open up a different box each day and it has a person from the natvity story inside. There is a story about each person that you read with your kids and the last box has a mirror inside, which is what God really wants for Christmas, is a realationship with us. Check this out at:

http://www2.familylife.com/wgwfc/

We teach our children the biblical facts behind these holidays, and society teaches them the fairy tale side of it. We do participate in the Santa Claus and Easter bunny part too, but the focus of our holidays is Jesus. My daughter has drawn the conclusion that Santa Claus is giving gifts to everyone in the spirit of Jesus and to help us remember how Jesus selflessly gave for us.
For Easter, I recommend that you participate in your church's Easter services. Not just Easter morning, but also the days leading up to Easter. If your church does not offer the whole story, then find a place that does for those services. For example, many churches have "the last supper" together as a big fellowship potluck and remember what the last supper was. Then they have a service of darkness on the day Jesus died and talk about what happened as well as what a life without Jesus would look like. On Easter morning, after going through those other exercises, the phrase "he is risen" means so much more!
We do still celebrate with an Easter bunny, and candy, but my kids don't feel that there is a separation from the true meaning of Easter and the candy that a bunny brings in celebration of the sweetness and awesomeness of Jesus' resurrection.
I think celebrating Santa and the Easter bunny are just part of our heritage and culture, not the opposite of Christianity. The day my kids ask is there 'really' and Easter bunny or Santa is the day I tell them that they are made up to help make the celebration more fun.

Just last night I was listenig to Focus on the Family and they were talking about resurrection easter eggs. I would try their website to get information. I think it's Focusonthefamily.com or org. Try it. Hope this helps some.

Hi S.,

I appreciate your question. I've been seeking to make this season meaningful, too, and if we don't do this intentionally, the season will just continue to be filled with our busy daily lives.

Last year I bought a little kit called "Resurrection Eggs" which have plastic eggs that a child can open once a day. Inside is a little symbol to spark meaningful discussion on the events leading up to Easter. It comes with some reading material too. It's a good preschool/early elementary tool. You can find it at a local Christian bookstore or online.

In general, we do very little with the whole egg idea around this time of year. I don't want my kids' first response to the word Easter to be "Eggs!"

I just read a book called "The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year" by Kimberlee Conway Ireton, published by InterVarsity Press. It's a wonderful, practical resource for making all church holidays meaningful. She's a local author, too!

By the way, we also recently found a terrific Children's Bible that tells the whole story from creation-present with a real focus on Jesus. It's called "The Big Picture Story Bible" by David Helm. Very well done!

All the best to you.

E.

A great discussion topic. I personally think that Easter is a time to celebrate the beginning of Spring...thus the daffodils, the eggs (birds nesting and returning back from migration etc.). I also was raised Catholic, so going to mass on Easter morning is important to my family. Now that I have a child, I want to instill both the importance of seasonal changes, and the religion/culture of my family. We get together with my extended family and hide easter eggs for the kids. We don't even have the commercial Easter baskets filled with candy and prizes. We just celebrate it with a large family dinner, egg hunt and in the morning we go to mass together. I think that I would like to involve in our own nuclear family, another tradition of perhaps planting some bulbs or doing something else to be outside and celebrate the return of the SUN!!...or is it Son? Hmmmm? (I think the Sun came before the Son...but that is just my thought on that) So, taking the commercialism out of a holiday and making it a special time for connection with the family and the outdoors is especially important for us. Have a wonderful Easter in any and all the ways you choose!

--- such a great question, S.--- here are some ideas:
Easter is about God making us new, and holy ( clean) and
whole--- how about finding an older person or struggling young single parent in your area ( your church community could sure help you--- or the local food bank) and clean up someone's yard - or take them a really nice basket of flowers to plant---

Blessings, for your sincerity and thoughtfullness. Tent City would LOVE some home-made cookies or treats --

:-)
J.

You can make a cool retelling of the story using an egg carton and plastic easter eggs. Inside each egg is something related to the story, such as a thorn, a tiny sword, a piece of cloth cut in two about the curtain, coins for the 30 pieces of silver, a jewel to symbolize the women who stuck with him, a wooden cross, there are various versions. The last egg, of course, is empty. What's so great about this is, after the first time, the kids will tell the story to you! I'm sure if you googled you would find a version, or make up your own based on the aspects of the story that are important to you.

Some people put dead flowers in a vase on good friday and replace with fresh on Easter.

Regarding secular aspects of the holiday, perhaps you could say that at the same time Christians are celebrating Easter, many people are simply celebrating the advent of Spring. So such things as the easter bunny and egg hunts have more to do with being happy that Spring is finally here than Easter.

In my view, it is no betrayal of Christ to celebrate Spring -- he created it, after all.

Hello S.,

We are christians also with a very conservative view :).

What we do for Easter is the night before we die eggs which I always did as a kid and then we sit down and explaing the reason for Easter. We explain that Jesus died and then rose again on the third day which is why we celebrate Easter. We also explain why he died and then we have question time for the kids my are 5 and 3 now and we started this when my oldest was 2 and at two she was walking around telling people what Easter was about.

We do this the night before b/c we go to church on Sunday morning and then afterwards we always have a big get together at my husbands parents house.

We do the whole Easter basket thing and an egg hunt but we always make sure that we explain to them the real reason for Easter. The morning of Easter we have their Easter baskets sitting on the table when they come down to eat their breakfast. We sometimes do a mystery hunt where they have to find things. My mother in law gave us a resurrection egg set that has the story in each egg and goes through the death and resurrection. I think it was a little over my kids heads but they enjoyed getting the things out of the eggs and holding them and touching them for example when they talked about the nails going into Jesus' hands there was alittle nail in the egg.

I hope that this helps we do the same for Christmas b/c kids can get so wrapped up in what did you get me that we keep reminding them why we are celebrating. We do let them see the bunny and Santa but explain to them who and what they are and that people have built them up to who they are and that they are just something fun but not real. Hope this helps. Hope you find some fun

We do the same thing with Christmas and have struggled with Easter. We currently do not currently attend a church but when our children were younger we did and we the plastic eggs with items in them that represent Christs life and death on the cross. Each night we would open an egg see the symbol and the scripture and then discuss it - using the childrens bible and stories we had. As for the bunny - we never even entertained the idea - they received a basket of goodies as a tradition from us. It's worked well and it was never an issue as they grew up. They always knew there was no such thing as an Easter Bunny.

Happy Easter.

Hi S.
We started teaching right from the start that our Easter was the resurection of Christ and the easter bunny is a fun way to find eggs and play games. The story of easter we celebrate with our family is church-based and slowly we have started to add (for our older son with questions) the history of the melding of druid and celtic traditions that have created the bunny/egg and fertility symbols of easter.

We still have the concept of Santa at our house and teach the birth of Christ as holy, but we really get into Christmas through our church and don't worry about the confusion of the two concepts.

Hope you find your way with ease.

Besides going to a church service, we do an Easter egg hunt with spiritual meanings hidden in the plastic eggs. For example, the 'special' eggs have a cross inside, bible verses, and other Easter symbols. Then the kids get to line them up and tell us the story! We usually do about 8-10 'special' eggs and then there's a few others with some treats. Good for you keeping the true meaning in Easter!

I admit it isn't easy to find Easter kid items that don't have Easter bunny.
Here are some of what we have tried for the three Easters with kids. Resurrection eggs at the end of the Easter egg hunt. Giving books that explain the Christian message of Easter. "What is Easter?" and a second one I can't remember are board books at Barnes and Noble. "The Easter Cave" is one my daughter loves year round. Be picky about the books or buy springtime/baby animal books instead of Easter egg hunt. Giving Veggie tales in an Easter basket.
Plus we go to church and try to explain the message.

My sister always has our big family dinner and an egg hunt for the kids on Saturday before Easter. They keep Sunday for church and the religious aspects of the holiday, as well as a special dinner for their own family. My church has a breakfast for families prior to the service and then eggs hunts for the little kids after the service.

I have one suggestion, videos of the resurection. I know that there are cartoon versions of this, I suggest since your boys are so young. Check Christian bookstores and/or sites!
I agree that they should know the real meaning of Easter. But I think it is fun to let them have a little of the comercial side of it too. Somebody had suggested the SPRING BASKET, that is a great idea. So maybe tie in the comerial aspect as celebrating Spring.

Hi S.,

I speak from my childhood experience, as my son is only 9 months old. Each year, instead of Easter baskets, my mom did "spring baskets" on the first day of spring. We would wake up to a basket filled with goodies, such as most children might receive on Easter morning. She wanted to totally separate that sort of thing from Easter without letting us feel deprived. We really liked it! We always knew the Easter bunny wasn't real and that that wasn't the real meaning of Easter.

I think you're right on with your visually telling the story of Easter with your children. I remember that Easter always felt very festive in my home growing up, as we wore our Easter clothing, spent a lot of time at church that morning, and then had a great meal at home afterwards. The festive atmosphere really made it feel like it was something very special that we were celebrating!

D.

Easter has always been a faith based holiday in our family. That doesn't mean we don't do the Easter bunny and egg hunts, but as the kids got older we explained the relationship between the Easter eggs and the resurrection. The symbols of spring are re-birth, promise of life everlasting. Lent, the 40 days in the wilderness, Palm Sunday, the events of Holy Week and then Easter Sunday. The commericial 'Easter' has ties to the sacred Easter; and use the opportunities to teach without preaching. Your babies are very young to truly grasp the concepts, but live your faith, it's woven in the fabric of your lives. Your children will grow up with the solid foundation upon which to build their faith, their relationship.