New Traditions

I love Easter. It is one of the most important holidays, we, as Christians can celebrate. What I don't love is the commercialism that comes with it. I think duckies, bunnies, candy, chicks are all cute...but what do they have to do with the Cruxifiction and Resurrection of our Saviour? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. For the last few years, I've wanted to do something different for this holiday. I didn't want to lose its meaning, its significance.

Luckily, a few Sundays before Easter Sunday, a couple in our church gave a beautiful presentation on ideas to celebrate Easter. It was like an answer to my prayers. They even had it all on a handout. I was so excited.

We decided to do only a few things this year and as our children get older, we'll add things and change it around.

It all began on Palm Sunday. We re-enacted the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. We read about it in the children's scriptures. Then, we got towels, blankets, and other things to throw on the floor. We asked the children if they wanted to represent Jesus, but neither of them wanted to, so we got a stuffed animal that carried a baby doll and that was the reenactment. The children liked it.

The following days, we read from the children's scriptures about the miracles Christ performed.
On Thursday, I cooked a Jerusalem dinner. It was food the Saviour probably ate at the last supper, like lentils, lamb, olives, dried fruit, grape juice, flat bread, and other yummy things. It was a bit of work, but it was worth it. The best part was setting a table on the ground and sitting on pillows. We didn't use any eating utensils. We all enjoyed it. It was such a yummy feast. That evening we read about the last supper.

The following days we read about Christ at Gethsemane and his Cruxifiction. My mom sent the children their Easter baskets, which they thoroughly enjoyed, yet we were still able to keep the real meaning of Easter.

Early Saturday morning we went on an egg hunt with their cousins. They really liked it. They liked it so much, we went back to the cousins' house for more egg hunting.

Sunday was nice and relaxing. We woke up the children with hugs and kisses and telling them that the Lord had risen today. That morning I attempted to make empty tomb rolls. They turned out okay. I think next year I'll change the recipe and make the dough from scratch or buy different brand of cresent rolls. We really liked how gooey and sweet was inside the bread.

There was a nice presentation at church. That night, dinner was a simple dinner. We ate barley soup, something that could have possibly been eaten in the time the Saviour lived on Earth.

That night we read about the Resurrection and the Lord's visit to America.

I tried taking Easter photos...didn't go that well, but at least I got a couple of shots. One of my favorites is of Mayita's close up of her hair.

It was one of the best Easters I've ever had. It was meaningful and all week long I was focused on the Saviour. There was a warm feeling inside of me all week long. I thought of the wonderful blessings He has given me...and to know that He really died for me. I couldn't have asked for a better Easter.