Faith & Life

EASTER CELEBRATIONS

Make New Memories and Mark Traditions with Spring Activities for Rebirth and Renewal

By Cathi Douglas     4/11/2019

Following a rainy winter, this spring is going to be spectacular. Celebrating Easter Sunday is the perfect time for us to renew our appreciation for this season of rebirth. 

Families celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection and the end of Lent with Easter baskets, stuffed bunnies, and egg hunts, but we can lengthen the fun by planning some simple outings, crafts, foods and more to welcome springtime. 

 

Enjoy special spring event 

April 15 the Laguna Playhouse offers “Sister’s Easter Catechism: Will My Bunny Go to Heaven?” beginning at 7:30 p.m. The all-knowing nun from Late Night Catechism and its many sequels returns for this show, during which she considers such questions as “Why isn’t Easter on the same day every year like Christmas?” and “Will my bunny go to Heaven?” 

For more information, visit goldstar.com/events/laguna-beach-ca/sisters-easter-catechism-will-my-bunny-go-to-heaven. 

 

Make Easter a learning experience 

Why not turn your family’s Easter celebration into a teaching moment? Do some research with the kids on how the Resurrection is celebrated in other cultures. Then prepare traditional Easter foods and enjoy some activities from other countries. 

 

Gather around an Easter craft project 

Christian author Nancy Twigg on celebratesimply.com suggests a craft project to mark the season of renewal begun by the risen Christ. Twigg notes that many churches make Easter crosses by attaching real flowers in to a wooden cross to symbolize the new life brought to us through Jesus’ death. You and the children can make your own family Easter cross by cutting out a large cross from brown construction paper, and then decorating it with flowers made from tissue or paper and colored with markers, crayons and paint. 

 

Create special foods for spring 

In Seton Magazine, writer Amy Pawlusiak says she makes Easter bread from her mother’s special recipe every spring. Many people have breads they bake into braids – with the three strands representing the Holy Trinity – or mark with a cross. 

Eggs are a natural reminder of the newness spring brings, and Easter brunch or lunch is a great time to break out your family recipes for scrambled eggs, egg salads, omelets and quiches. 

Of course, we must never forget chocolate eggs, bunnies, and chicks, Pawlusiak adds, “because God is good, and His sweetness is our joy!” 

 

Get out in nature 

A stroll around the neighborhood is a great time to notice the rebirth that spring brings. Listen to the birds singing, admire the neighbor’s new rosebuds, breathe in the scent of freshly mowed grass, gaze at the puffy white clouds in the springtime sky. All of these wonders make us thank God for the beauty that surrounds us every day. 

Writer Donna Franke on faithformationlearningexchange.net recommends taking the family on an Emmaus walk. “Before you start out,” she says, “read the Emmaus story (Luke 24: 13-35) together. Then go to some place that has special meaning to your family, or to some place where you haven’t gone for a while. Imagine that Jesus is walking with you.” 

 

Count your blessings 

Easter is the perfect time to count your family’s many blessings. Franke suggests making a list of your family’s legacies – not goods or money, but attitudes, standards, values and influences – and noting how and when they are passed on to each generation. 

Whether you stay home to celebrate Easter with a ham dinner, visit relatives, or have some fun hunting Easter eggs in the park, remember to take a moment of gratitude to the Lord for making this season the most special one of all.