Time for Easter. And you know what that means?
CHOCOLATE!
Well, maybe not quite.
My friends know that I am obsessed with chocolate and my kids are convinced that all I eat are chocolate covered almonds. However, as much as I love chocolate and all the chocolate Easter has to offer, it is not what Easter is all about for me or the kids!
Easter is about Christ. No two ways about it. And if you celebrate Easter at all you should have Christ at the center of your celebration.
It is so easy to inadvertently cover up the real reason for holidays like Christmas and Easter with beautiful traditions. Traditions that grow and spread like a flowering Jasmine vine on a fence until you know longer see the fence that supports the fragrant flowers. All your eyes see are the delightful, fragrant flowers but they have a source. Just as Easter has a source…Christ. Easter is a holiday celebrating His sacrifice and gift of life to us.
So a little random but here are three meaningful traditions that came from Easter. And then an Easter tradition you may want to start with your kids that has part of Christ’s story hidden in eggs rather than that chocolate I love. And lastly, an Easter give away you may want to win to give your kids.
3 Traditions You Never Knew About Easter
1. Pretzels were created in the season leading up to Easter.
Long ago when Christianity was first taking its roots, it was common for Roman Christians to not be allowed to eat meat or dairy during Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter). Because of this, they created a new recipe just for this season: pretzels! A monk shaped the dough so that it twisted in front to represent two little crossed arms praying.
2. The first Sunrise Service was just a couple of young men.
In 1732 Germany, a group of young men decided to wandered to the hilltop of a nearby cemetery to meditate on the importance of Christ resurrection. As they celebrated the sun rose on the hill and adding beauty and glory to their worship. Little did they know that they were beginning a tradition that would still be going strong hundreds of years later.
3. The tradition of the Easter egg.
This tradition had pagan origins. Christians adopted the egg as an Easter symbol that represents new life. We color and decorate eggs hiding the little symbols of new life for children to find.
Which leads me to the question–how can we point these beautiful traditions back to their purpose?
An Easter Egg Hunt Idea with Meaning
This year by all means have that Easter egg hunt, but add some Resurrection meaning to it! I love this printable. We made this several years ago and it has been used all over the world!
All over the world! That just delights me. This is a note from Sam in South Africa:
I have to share how your easter puzzle went. I have a huge garden so every Easter I host a hunt. In the past I first tell the story then send everyone on the hunt for eggs. Well this year I started by hiding your puzzle pieces first. I broke the kids into groups they then had to hunt for the pieces and return to the big group. I then used your story chart to put the story in order of piece. We then got each group to tell their pieces story. The kids loved it. The easter story trumped any egg hunt and the kids loved the entire process. When the story was done they then collected eggs and played their hearts out. It was just phenomenal.
Thanks for making it so easy to build such delight into our days. For giving us tools to make mothering fun easy to do.
Have an incredibly special easter.
All my love
Sam
Here they are those precious kids from across the world…
Enter to Win An Easter Gift for Kids
Lastly, because I love Easter and the story behind it–God’s perfect provision for my sin–Jesus, I am giving away two of these new Tyndale’s children’s Bibles. All you have to do is tell me why you love Easter in the comments below! And let me know if you win which version you would like the boys or girls.
Happy Easter!
