Easter is Coming!

Easter is right around the corner, on April 12th. As a culture, we spend much time, money, and energy on the celebration of Christ's birth, but very little on celebrating the Resurrection! Sometimes this holiday "sneaks up on me".... But God instituted holidays ( holy days ) for his chosen people as a way of remembering God's mercy and provision, as a time for teaching the younger generations, as a time of setting aside the normal activities to focus on something greater and more eternally significant!

How does your family celebrate Easter? How do you focus on glorifying the Lord at this time of year?

How do you decorate? When someone walks into your home, do they know that you are celebrating the amazing miracle of Jesus's death and resurrection?
 

What traditions are important to your family?


We have always done Easter baskets for our kids. Why? Tradition.  
I like giving gifts to my children, just as our heavenly Father likes giving good gifts to us, His children.  
I try to always include something that points to them Jesus - Christian jewelry, devotional books or Christian story books, scripture bookmarks -  as well as fun items that celebrate life and family - bubbles, kites, candy, frisbees, coloring books, art supplies, gardening tools! 

 
We also decorate eggs - another family tradition!  The egg is a symbol of new life. Another eggy activity that my children have enjoyed is Ressurection Eggs, which are colored plastic eggs filled with items symbolizing the Easter story. 

 

On some years, we have done elements of the Passover meal on Thursday night, or a Christian Seder, and talked about the significance to the Jewish people, and the Christian symbolism of those same elements.
http://www.peopleoffaith.com/passover-seder.htm
http://www.crivoice.org/seder.html

We often watch a Christian family movie on Friday night - The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Robe, Ben Hur.


Resurrection Cookies or Resurrection Rolls are a fun tradition to do with your kids.


Take out whatever storybooks you have that center on Jesus's life or on the Easter story. ( if you don't have any, you might want to start your collection this year ). I have a couple of book stands and I set the books out on the coffee table for the week or two before Easter, to be read one at a time over the days leading up to the holiday. The same with any Easter DVDs / videos - Veggie Tales Easter Carol, The Passion of Christ, etc


I have a garden flag that has a cross and Easter lily - that goes out in the yard.

Especially when my kids were younger ( note to self: don't forget I still have a 10-yr-old ) we set aside some time to do a short Easter unit study
Easter Promise  
The Teaching Home Easter Unit Study

 

Okay, this helped me get the wheels turning. Time to dig out the Easter tablecloth, hang up the flag, buy some Easter lilies, and start sprucing things up for the holiday!