Easter finally arrived! I don't know if it was because I was more in tune with the season of Lent and the preparation of self for the feast of Easter Sunday, but I could not wait for its arrival this year! Easter is truly the most holy of holy days as it remembers and celebrates the birth of Christianity. The Resurrection is the essence of Christianity because without it, the faith would have died with the death of its Messiah. That is what sets Christianity and Jesus apart from any other faith or thought-to-be Messiah throughout time. That is why Easter is so beautiful because it is a celebration of all that Jesus proclaimed during His time on earth. It represents a rebirth of self and a renewal of spirit; a clean slate and an open heart, a time to write Jesus' promise upon your heart and give Him glory with your life.
Holiday: Easter- March 31, 2013
Celebration: Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Catholics, Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving known as Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise again with Him in new life on Easter.
Celebration: Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Catholics, Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving known as Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise again with Him in new life on Easter.
Historical background:
The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew calendar,but there is no direct evidence that they celebrated any specifically Christian annual festivals. Christians of Jewish origin were the first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Since the date of the resurrection was close the timing of Passover, they likely celebrated the resurrection as a new facet of the Passover festival.
Direct evidence for the Easter festival begins to appear in the mid-second century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referencing Easter is a mid-second-century Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one. Evidence for another kind of annual Christian festival, the commemoration of martyrs, begins to appear at about the same time as evidence for the celebration of Easter. But while martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in the local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by means of the local Jewish lunisolar calendar. This is consistent with the celebration of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest, Jewish period,
The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. God has given Christians "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". Christians, through faith in the working of God are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so that they may walk in a new way of life.
Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper and crucifixion that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as he prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room during the Last Supper. He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his body soon to be sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. Paul states, "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed";this refers to the Passover requirement to have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.
Biblical basis:
John 20:1-9- The Gospel Reading on Easter Sunday
The Empty Tomb
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
Ways to Celebrate:
-Craft ideas for kids and youth:
**Coloring eggs: Decorating eggs was a pagan symbol of rebirth at springtime for the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians and even the Chinese. Christians adopted the colored egg as a symbol of new life which comes with the Resurrection.
-Before you hide the eggs or put them in baskets, encircle each one with a colored strip of paper (or place the strip inside plastic eggs) that tells one small part of the Easter story. When the eggs have been found, the children must unscramble the story and put it in the right order.
-Instead of decorating the eggs with dye, or in addition to dying them, write one attribute of Jesus on each egg. You can do this by writing on the egg with a crayon before you put it in the dye. If you are using plastic eggs, you can write with a permanent marker or paint pen.
-Send kids on a hunt for the eggs that have Jesus' attributes written on them. Instead of just discovering eggs, they will be discovering the wonderful things that make Jesus so special. If the eggs are plastic, fill them with treats to remember how sweet the life of Jesus really is.
-Dye eggs in certain colors and use them to tell the story of salvation.
**Make Easter cards to deliver to friends and family spreading friendship and joy!
-Fun family ideas:
The Empty Tomb
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
Ways to Celebrate:
-Craft ideas for kids and youth:
**Coloring eggs: Decorating eggs was a pagan symbol of rebirth at springtime for the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians and even the Chinese. Christians adopted the colored egg as a symbol of new life which comes with the Resurrection.
-Before you hide the eggs or put them in baskets, encircle each one with a colored strip of paper (or place the strip inside plastic eggs) that tells one small part of the Easter story. When the eggs have been found, the children must unscramble the story and put it in the right order.
-Instead of decorating the eggs with dye, or in addition to dying them, write one attribute of Jesus on each egg. You can do this by writing on the egg with a crayon before you put it in the dye. If you are using plastic eggs, you can write with a permanent marker or paint pen.
-Send kids on a hunt for the eggs that have Jesus' attributes written on them. Instead of just discovering eggs, they will be discovering the wonderful things that make Jesus so special. If the eggs are plastic, fill them with treats to remember how sweet the life of Jesus really is.
-Dye eggs in certain colors and use them to tell the story of salvation.
**Make Easter cards to deliver to friends and family spreading friendship and joy!
-Fun family ideas:
**Teach about Jesus using the Easter bunny! Look at the bunnies attributes as they...
-are white as snow because Jesus takes all sin away (Isaiah 1:18b).
-are gentle, kind-hearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32).
-have big ears that are quick to listen (James 1:19).
-have big eyes to look carefully and choose what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
-have no voice for complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:13).
-are quiet in prayer, but hop with thanksgiving and rejoicing (Philippians 4:4-6).
-have big feet to go tell others about Jesus so they can be like Easter bunnies, too (Matthew 28: 19-20).
-eat what is healthy by filling up on God's word every day (Psalm 119:11).
**Have an Easter brunch using your colored hard boiled eggs! See how creative you can get and try new recipes...maybe an english muffin hard boiled egg pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella!
-are white as snow because Jesus takes all sin away (Isaiah 1:18b).
-are gentle, kind-hearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32).
-have big ears that are quick to listen (James 1:19).
-have big eyes to look carefully and choose what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
-have no voice for complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:13).
-are quiet in prayer, but hop with thanksgiving and rejoicing (Philippians 4:4-6).
-have big feet to go tell others about Jesus so they can be like Easter bunnies, too (Matthew 28: 19-20).
-eat what is healthy by filling up on God's word every day (Psalm 119:11).
**Have an Easter brunch using your colored hard boiled eggs! See how creative you can get and try new recipes...maybe an english muffin hard boiled egg pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella!
-Religious traditions:
**Attend Easter morning mass together
**Attend Easter morning mass together
**Age appropriate ways to teach the meaning of Easter...
Ages 0-3
Help your little ones stuff hollow plastic eggs with one chocolate heart, because Jesus came to give us a new heart toward God. Then allow your little one to hand them out to friends, neighbors, or people you meet during the day. You might include a note inside with the passage from John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." – Jesus
Ages 4-7
Hold a neighborhood egg hunt, but award the large basket filled with candy for whoever finds the one empty egg, representing the empty tomb. When the child finds the empty egg he or she must call out, "He is not here he has risen, just as he said." Be sure to conclude the hunt with an Easter story on the lawn. I'd recommend The Parable of the Lily, by Liz Curtis Higgs.
Ages 8-12
Sometimes the greatest joy is in the giving. Visit a nearby hospital or retirement home and greet one of the residents with a fresh Easter lily. You may want to attach a card with some encouraging words about the hope we have in our risen Lord.
Age 13-18
Children this age might enjoy a surprise field trip for a sunrise service at the park or a nearby lake. Be sure to bring a Bible, hymnbook or maybe even a guitar for a worshipful early morning celebration.
How we celebrated:
We went to Red Oak to celebrate the holiday! On Saturday, we went to Waco to celebrate Easter with John-Henry and his family. We colored Easter eggs with the kids and they opened their Easter baskets. It was very sweet :) The next morning we woke up early and went to Easter mass! The church was decorated with beautiful flowers and colors to represent the newness of the season. After mass, we went back to the house and cooked a delicious breakfast to share together and looked through our Easter baskets that my mom had made. We then loaded up the car and drove to my grandmother's house to celebrate with the whole family; we had lots of food and just celebrated being together all day. I love that Easter is just a big celebration of the beautiful life that Jesus gave us. After all the preparation during Lent, it is an incredible feeling to celebrate the day that all of the preparation was for.
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Ages 0-3
Help your little ones stuff hollow plastic eggs with one chocolate heart, because Jesus came to give us a new heart toward God. Then allow your little one to hand them out to friends, neighbors, or people you meet during the day. You might include a note inside with the passage from John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." – Jesus
Ages 4-7
Hold a neighborhood egg hunt, but award the large basket filled with candy for whoever finds the one empty egg, representing the empty tomb. When the child finds the empty egg he or she must call out, "He is not here he has risen, just as he said." Be sure to conclude the hunt with an Easter story on the lawn. I'd recommend The Parable of the Lily, by Liz Curtis Higgs.
Ages 8-12
Sometimes the greatest joy is in the giving. Visit a nearby hospital or retirement home and greet one of the residents with a fresh Easter lily. You may want to attach a card with some encouraging words about the hope we have in our risen Lord.
Age 13-18
Children this age might enjoy a surprise field trip for a sunrise service at the park or a nearby lake. Be sure to bring a Bible, hymnbook or maybe even a guitar for a worshipful early morning celebration.
How we celebrated:
We went to Red Oak to celebrate the holiday! On Saturday, we went to Waco to celebrate Easter with John-Henry and his family. We colored Easter eggs with the kids and they opened their Easter baskets. It was very sweet :) The next morning we woke up early and went to Easter mass! The church was decorated with beautiful flowers and colors to represent the newness of the season. After mass, we went back to the house and cooked a delicious breakfast to share together and looked through our Easter baskets that my mom had made. We then loaded up the car and drove to my grandmother's house to celebrate with the whole family; we had lots of food and just celebrated being together all day. I love that Easter is just a big celebration of the beautiful life that Jesus gave us. After all the preparation during Lent, it is an incredible feeling to celebrate the day that all of the preparation was for.
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