Seasonal Rhythms Part 4: Easter Traditions
While Easter conjures up images of lilies, pastel dresses and Easter egg hunts, it is so much more and so much deeper than that. With the long preparation of Lent comes the culmination of everything Christ did in Easter. Without the resurrection, we would not have Christianity. Because of that, Easter is the most joyous holiday in the Christian faith. Where Christmas day is joyful in a quiet awe-inspired way, Easter tends to be joyful in an all encompassing, fall on your face in worship and relief type of way.
When Lent is done well, and we really allow ourselves to slow down and enter into the reality of Jesus' suffering for our sins, then Easter is the sweetest most beautiful day as we celebrate the fact that we are no longer dead in our sins, but alive in Christ because He conquered over sin and death, raising to life again.
Easter is typically celebrated as one day, but it is actually a whole season for the church. The Easter season begins on Easter Sunday and lasts 7 weeks, until the Sunday of Pentecost. This season is a time to reflect on the resurrection of Christ and our future eternal resurrection with Him.
Our Easter traditions mostly center around the morning, since what we do with our extended family changes every year. We want to make sure we teach our kiddos the significance and depth of this day. That it is special and big and magical for them because Jesus - the Son of God - came back to life from the dead. It's mind blowing and we want them to sense that. Here's what we do:
LIGHT 7 CANDLES: I light all 7 candles that were extinguished during Holy Week and we rejoice in the fact that Jesus, the light of the world, conquered death and rose from the grave.
LAMB CAKE + BIG BREAKFAST: Of course we do a special breakfast and Reaghan and I will make a lamb cake (probably the day before). It's pretty fun to have cake for breakfast! We read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible (God's Wonderful Surprise) during breakfast time too.
PRAISE MUSIC: Where I try to play music centered around suffering, our sin, and humility during Lent, we fully blast the praise music on Easter morning!
SMALL EASTER BASKET/HUNT: For the kids, I do love doing an Easter basket. We save this for after church and before we go anywhere to meet family. Making it not the first thing we do in our day helps the kids see that Easter is all about Jesus and what He did for us, rather than their basket. In the past we have done an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids in our neighborhood, which I think is a great way to build relationships with neighbors and be a light in a dark place.