Easter

Keeping Jesus in Easter


Easter is the time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but this usually gets pushed aside by traditional Easter activities such as the Easter Bunny, coloring eggs, egg hunts, etc. Easter comes at springtime and some of our traditions at Easter are actually a part of the pagan Spring celebration.  But that’s ok . . .  we can use these tangible things to help children understand intangible ideas .

The name Easter is from Eostre, an Anglo Saxon goddess of Spring. The resurrection of Jesus coincided with the springtime celebration for this goddess.   Through the years Christians began to incorporate the pagan springtime traditions with their celebration of the Resurrection .  An old English historical writing contains a letter from Pope Gregory to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Pope Gregory suggested that converting heathens would go easier if they were allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while reinterpreting those traditions spiritually towards the Christian God instead of to their pagan “devils”: “to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God”.

So let’s heed Pope Gregory’s suggestion.

Click on each of these familiar secular Easter traditions to see how to relate it to what Jesus did on the Cross:


EasterEaster Basket

easter_egg_hunt[1]Hiding Eggs

Bunny_in_a_hole_by_cuzvans8erEaster Bunny

Easter 2006 007Coloring Eggs

Watch these fun Easter history facts

A great resource for telling the story of Easter with eggs is Resurrection Eggs

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Use Tangible Easter Objects to Emphasize Intangible Truths

Easter comes at springtime and some of our traditions at Easter are actually a part of the pagan springtime celebration.  But that’s ok . . .  we can use  tangible things (bunnies, chicks, eggs) to help children understand intangible ideas.

The bunny stays in a rabbit hole in the ground all winter.  When spring comes, the bunny comes out of  his hole.  We can relate this to Jesus being in the tomb for three days, but on Easter morning, He came out and is alive today.

Eggs remind us of new life.   Coloring them reminds us of how beautiful our world is as the earth comes back to life again with new flowers and new leaves and grass.  Relate this to Jesus coming back to life.

New chicks, bunnies, lambs, and ducks are  also reminders of new life.    Jesus gives us new life by what He did on the Cross for us.

One way to bring in the true meaning is to put Bible verses on the eggs you hide and then gather together to read them all.  Some suggested verses are:

Revelation 21:5  Jesus makes all things new.
Galatians 2:20  Jesus Christ lives.
Matthew 28:6  Jesus is risen.
Song of Solomon 2:12  The flowers appear on the earth.

Another way is to make a cross out of twigs or craft sticks and keep it in a prominent place during the Easter season.  Point out that it is empty because Jesus didn’t stay on the cross or in the tomb . . . He is alive!!

A great book to teach the real meaning of Easter is Easter Bunny, Are You For Real?

A song that children really love about the empty tomb is Hooray from Maranatha Music’s “Every Song a Bible Story”.  It sums up the important message of the resurrection.  Sing it often together during this season.

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord.  Read the Easter story together from the Gospels.

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Happy Resurrection Day!

IT’S SUNDAY MORNING!

“Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!”
Up from the grave He arose;
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!”


I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Rejoice for this validates everything that Jesus did and said! It also grants us a confirmed hope! We who are alive in Christ will one day be reunited with those who are asleep in Christ!

The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord:

  • Read the Easter story together from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15 – 16, or Luke 23-24.
  • Sing praises together.  Hooray is one song that children really love about the empty tomb.  It is from Every Song a Bible Story from Maranatha Music.

Happy Easter from my family to yours!

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Ideas for Day Seven of Passion Week

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Matthew 28:6


Read about what was happening on Day Seven of Passion Week. It was a dark day for Jesus’ disciples – they thought He was in the tomb, but they could not imagine what He was actually up to during their darkest moments!!

Emphasis all day that when things look dark in our lives, God is busy at work, taking care of the things that concern us, even though we can’t see it.


Make an empty tomb with just a paper plate cut in half.  Color back side of one half of the plate brown. Color the top side of the other black which will be the inside of the tomb.  Cut a stone out of the brown side.  Staple the two sides together.  You can crumple a piece of brown paper for the stone.

Get complete instructions here to make an Easter Garden.

Tell the Easter Story with this Easter Cookie recipe. This is complete instructions with scriptures to share as you make the cookies.   When done, the cookies are empty just like the tomb.

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Ideas for Day Six of Passion Week

picture from Read and Share Bible

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Day Six of Passion Week is the day that Jesus was put on the cross.  It is  the most crucial focal point in history. Think with your children about the agony He went through  – betrayal, arrest, false accusations, abandonment, beatings, harassment, and finally being nailed to a cross. –  all this for someone Else’s sins.   It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming is a video that depicts some of what was happening.

Resurrection Eggs is a wonderful teaching aid for helping your children visualize what Jesus was going through.  Each egg contains a different symbol such as 3 coins, leather strip, crown of thorns, 3 nails, etc.   It comes with a booklet telling the story related to each symbol and can be purchased at most Christian book stores.  Click here or here for excellent instructions on making your own! There’s even a video here of making the eggs.

Save your colored egg shells to make a cross like the one in this picture.  Cut a cross out of cardboard; cover it in glue; then sprinkle the crushed egg shells on it.  Share with your children as you are making this that just as these egg shells are broken to make a beautiful picture, Jesus’ body was broken for us us to make our lives beautiful and free from the punishment for sin.

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