Easter
Easter is coming! Looking around, one can understand why children find this to be a confusing holiday. We are bombarded with advertisements for Easter brunches and giant candy-filled egg hunts, and shopping aisles are full of chocolate, bunnies, eggs, and all kinds of other things we can buy to “celebrate Easter.” Lent is kind of hard to sell - I mean, what does one sell around the theme of repentance? So instead, we’re encouraged to buy things that probably have more to do with consumerism and the pagan “Eastra” celebration of fertility than with the Christian celebration of resurrection. These things are fun, and it’s okay to let your children enjoy them a bit, but consider this year dialing back the sugar and the rabbits, and directing your time and energy into some other ways of celebrating. Because one cannot explain resurrection without also explaining death, I think this is a difficult Holy Day to guide very young children through. The following activities and ideas are meant to help you introduce concepts that can be built upon as your children get older.
Read It
Matthew 27:27 - Matthew 28:10 (crucifixion through resurrection)
Matthew 28:1-10 (resurrection story only)
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Matthew 28:1-10 (resurrection story only)
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Do It
Read the story:
There is nothing like reading a story over and over to help children gain an understanding of it. Read the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day of Holy Week. You may choose to read it from the same gospel each day, or perhaps read from each of the four gospels on different days. The point here is to read the story. Let your children guide how it grows from there. If they ask questions, explore those questions (but don’t feel like you need to have an answer!). If something strikes them as funny, talk about it. Consider writing a simple version as a family that covers the basic action of the story. Maybe in your family, it works well to act it out, or to tell the story using Legos or dolls. This is a story that is hard for adults to understand, let alone children. Don’t let that intimidate you - read it anyway!
Resurrection Rolls:
These have become a tradition in our house. We tell the story of Jesus’ body being prepared for burial, then placed in a tomb as we make the rolls, then when they come out of the oven, we marvel at the empty tomb. Also, they’re delicious. Here is a recipe using store-bought dough, but we make them with regular homemade bread dough. This is another tradition that grows with the child.
Easter Eggs:
Eggs are a symbol of fertility, but the Christian tradition has also seen them as a symbol of new life (along with spring-born baby animals of all sorts). Here are a few ways to add a little resurrection to the egg experience:
Egg Tree:
Poke a hole in each end of an egg and blow the insides out of it. Rinse it, then dye it or paint it. String a ribbon through it to create an ornament, then hang your eggs on a bare branch. Keep it up through the Easter season (which begins with Easter Sunday and lasts until Pentecost) to remind you that even in a bare branch, new life is coming. These eggs can be kept from year to year, another bonus.
Easter Symbol Egg Hunt:
This is one we’re trying at our church this year. Fill pink eggs with a small cross, yellow plastic eggs with a small rock, and green eggs with a gladiola bulb (or another annual). Tell each child they are to find one green egg, one yellow egg, and one pink egg. When each child has their eggs, explain the symbols:
Cross: The cross that Jesus was crucified on
Rock: The stone that was rolled away from the tomb
Gladiola bulb: Resurrection and new life (it looks dead and has to be buried, but it comes up as something beautiful in its time)
Easter Week:
Here are a few ideas from a previous post about celebrating Holy Week. Check out these ideas for a Seder meal, the Lord’s supper, footwashing, and a resurrection ritual.
There is nothing like reading a story over and over to help children gain an understanding of it. Read the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day of Holy Week. You may choose to read it from the same gospel each day, or perhaps read from each of the four gospels on different days. The point here is to read the story. Let your children guide how it grows from there. If they ask questions, explore those questions (but don’t feel like you need to have an answer!). If something strikes them as funny, talk about it. Consider writing a simple version as a family that covers the basic action of the story. Maybe in your family, it works well to act it out, or to tell the story using Legos or dolls. This is a story that is hard for adults to understand, let alone children. Don’t let that intimidate you - read it anyway!
Resurrection Rolls:
These have become a tradition in our house. We tell the story of Jesus’ body being prepared for burial, then placed in a tomb as we make the rolls, then when they come out of the oven, we marvel at the empty tomb. Also, they’re delicious. Here is a recipe using store-bought dough, but we make them with regular homemade bread dough. This is another tradition that grows with the child.
Easter Eggs:
Eggs are a symbol of fertility, but the Christian tradition has also seen them as a symbol of new life (along with spring-born baby animals of all sorts). Here are a few ways to add a little resurrection to the egg experience:
Egg Tree:
Poke a hole in each end of an egg and blow the insides out of it. Rinse it, then dye it or paint it. String a ribbon through it to create an ornament, then hang your eggs on a bare branch. Keep it up through the Easter season (which begins with Easter Sunday and lasts until Pentecost) to remind you that even in a bare branch, new life is coming. These eggs can be kept from year to year, another bonus.
Easter Symbol Egg Hunt:
This is one we’re trying at our church this year. Fill pink eggs with a small cross, yellow plastic eggs with a small rock, and green eggs with a gladiola bulb (or another annual). Tell each child they are to find one green egg, one yellow egg, and one pink egg. When each child has their eggs, explain the symbols:
Cross: The cross that Jesus was crucified on
Rock: The stone that was rolled away from the tomb
Gladiola bulb: Resurrection and new life (it looks dead and has to be buried, but it comes up as something beautiful in its time)
Easter Week:
Here are a few ideas from a previous post about celebrating Holy Week. Check out these ideas for a Seder meal, the Lord’s supper, footwashing, and a resurrection ritual.
Explaining Jesus’ Death:
We do not find it helpful to tell a young child that Jesus died for their sins so they would not have to go to hell. This is theologically problematic, and it also injects an unhealthy dose of guilt into the holiday. Instead, focus on Jesus’ example of ultimate love. Jesus loved the whole world so much, and was so faithful, and that led to his death. God revealed God’s power over death in the resurrection. For young children, knowing that God is very, very big - even bigger than death - is a powerful thing. Nuance and greater understanding of the “Why did Jesus have to die” question will come as the children grow older. This article by Traci Smith is incredibly helpful for strengthening our own theology and think about how to talk to children about the crucifixion. I especially like this way of explaining the crucifixion: “Jesus died on a cross and was laid in a dark tomb. Everyone was sad and missed him. Three days later, the dark tomb was open and empty and there was light and joy. The resurrection is a mystery of our faith.”
We do not find it helpful to tell a young child that Jesus died for their sins so they would not have to go to hell. This is theologically problematic, and it also injects an unhealthy dose of guilt into the holiday. Instead, focus on Jesus’ example of ultimate love. Jesus loved the whole world so much, and was so faithful, and that led to his death. God revealed God’s power over death in the resurrection. For young children, knowing that God is very, very big - even bigger than death - is a powerful thing. Nuance and greater understanding of the “Why did Jesus have to die” question will come as the children grow older. This article by Traci Smith is incredibly helpful for strengthening our own theology and think about how to talk to children about the crucifixion. I especially like this way of explaining the crucifixion: “Jesus died on a cross and was laid in a dark tomb. Everyone was sad and missed him. Three days later, the dark tomb was open and empty and there was light and joy. The resurrection is a mystery of our faith.”
Pray It
God, thank you for sending Jesus to show us who you are, to show us your way of love. You gave us the gift of salvation. Help us to live in a way that shows our gratitude to you. Help us to love as you love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Explore It
Here are a couple of our favorite children’s books for telling the resurrection story:
Peter’s First Easter (Wangerin)
The Light of the World (Paterson)
Make Room (Alary)
Peter’s First Easter (Wangerin)
The Light of the World (Paterson)
Make Room (Alary)
