According to the Christian calendar yesterday was Palm Sunday, the day Christians remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where he was greeted by crowds praising him with cries of "Hosanna". By the end of the week Jesus would be dead and buried a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.
I often imagine that Saturday as one of the darkest days in human history as Satan thought he had won by killing Jesus, not realizing the ultimate victory would come on Sunday!
My kids are now 5 and 3 and I love watching their faith grow and hearing them speak the Truth. Last night at the dinner table we were discussing Easter and even my 3 year old was able to tell me we celebrate Easter because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. This morning I was in our spare room/office when my daughter came in, out of the blue, and said "Mommy! Jesus is the Truth!"
I want to take time this week and help my kids focus on the meaning of Easter. For the past few days I have been trying to think of different ways to prepare their young hearts and minds for the commemoration of the most important day in all of human history. I would also like to establish some traditions for our family as we mark this monumental week.
One friend and her husband participated in a reverse Lent project that they completed over the weekend. I love this idea so much that I'm going to discuss with my husband the possibility of doing it in our home next year.
Last week a friend posted a picture of this Easter garden and I immediately went to the store to get the necessary items. The kids and I made our own on Thursday and we'll remove the stone on Sunday morning. My son was quite concerned we were waiting so long (over a week) to roll the stone away because, "Mom! Jesus rose from the dead on the third day! Why are we waiting so long?"
Each night we read to our kids out of their children's Bible as their bedtime story. Generally my husband reads to our son, while I read to our daughter. We made sure last night to read them the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and will continue to read the events of this important week each night.
Though we will not be having a Seder dinner I am thinking about making a special dinner on Thursday night to remember the Last Supper.
Because we go to a large church they hold Easter services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Our family will attend church on Saturday night, leaving Sunday for our family celebration.
Sunday morning we will hunt for Resurrection Eggs and discuss the story of Easter as we open the eggs.
As I look forward to the week I'm left wondering about what other traditions we can establish and activities we can do to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice made on the cross and the incredible victory of Jesus conquering death.
What are some activities your family does to mark Easter?
We always do Resurrection Cookies on Saturday night, and the past couple years we've done a modified Last Supper/Passover. Two years ago, we tried making unleavened bread, and it was horrible. Last year I just bought some from the store and had grape juice, then had a footwashing ceremony. It was pretty moving, actually. I don't know if they would've grasped all the meaning when they were younger. Dylan has watched Passion of the Christ with us on Good Friday for the past couple years. Grace may watch it this year, if she feels she's ready. I wouldn't even consider it until they're at least 10, though.
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