Easter Traditions

Apr 2, 2010 by desiringvirtue

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, “Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.”

Deuteronomy 4:9-10

 

I know there are some Christians who believe that we should not celebrate Easter or Christmas differently than any other day of the year. To do so would be to imply that we do not pay special attention to the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ every day as we ought. I understand this line of reasoning, and believe that we should do our utmost to treasure Christ in every moment of every day of every year… and yet I also believe that God-centered celebrations can be a useful tool to “take care” and “keep [our souls] diligently, lest [we] forget the things [our] eyes have seen, and lest they depart from [our hearts] all the days of [our lives]” as this passage from Deuteronomy encourages the Israelites. This is exactly why God instituted so many feasts and celebrations throughout the Old Testament.

 

But Easter, as well as Christmas, can also just be a time when we say we are celebrating Christ, but in reality we give very little of our time and attention to him. Symbolic traditions, not just traditions, can be a way to help focus our minds and instruct our children in the wonder of the joy we receive from our salvation in Christ. During the Christmas season I shared some of the ways that we, as a family, were trying to be purposeful in our traditions. In the same way I want to build Easter traditions that focus around our God and King.

It is surprisingly difficult to find a wealth of information about Christian Easter traditions. Most of what you find on the internet is saturated with bunnies and eggs, but there were a few gems that I was able to bookmark and hope to incorporate into our own celebration. Here they are in no particular order:

1. In most of the world lamb, not ham, is the traditional Easter meat and with good reason. The symbolism is obvious! “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Just as the sacrificial lamb was a symbol for the Israelites, eating lamb on Easter can be a symbol for us of the sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God for our sins.

2. For many people Hot Cross Buns are a traditional Easter food. These sweet, fruit filled buns display a cross on top of them to help remind us of the reason for our celebration. Here is a link to a recipe.

3. Apparently in much of Europe, Italian Easter Bread, is a common tradition. The cross braiding of the dough is meant to remind you of the crown of thorns, while the decorative eggs are a symbol of the new life found in Christ. This is also a sweet bread. Here is a link to a recipe.

4. Easter eggs in general are supposed to be symbolic of new life. In some traditions they color the eggs red to represent the blood of Christ. In others you crack open the eggs on Easter morning symbolizing Jesus’ tomb breaking open. There is even a game for children (and adult men I would presume) where each person holds an egg in their fist and you sort of fist pump each other until one of the eggs breaks. Whoever’s egg doesn’t break is the winner (Again, the breaking of the egg is reminiscent of the tomb breaking open). In some cultures the decorated eggs are the first food handed out on Easter morning with the traditional, “He is risen!” accompanying the hand off and “Indeed he is!” being the thank you from the recipient. In some homes, only one egg is eaten by every member of the family symbolizing the unity of the body of Christ.

5. Similar to the Advent Candles of Christmas, many people do the opposite for Easter. You start out with lit candles and over time blow them all out until there are none left on Good Friday. You can do it over the entire Lent season, the holy week, or even simply on Good Friday itself. This tradition symbolizes the death of the “Light of the World.” On Easter morning all of the candles are lit to represent the resurrection.

6. Just as wine (or grape juice) represent the blood of Christ when we take communion, it can do the same soul stirring service during our Easter Celebrations.

7. Extended Family Worship is a great way to make Easter different from other days. Taking time to read prophecies regarding the suffering and exaltation of Christ and then their fulfillment is the most obvious way of focusing our hearts and minds as a family on Christ. Choose songs to sing that focus on the crucifixion and resurrection to continue with the same theme.

8. Fasting has always been a part of this season as a way of seeking closer fellowship to the Lord and even mourning his death on the cross. Fasting from Friday night to Sunday morning would be a great tradition to start in order to symbolize the darkness that was felt as the Son of God physically died and then the joy felt as he returned.

9. The new clothes that many people wear on Easter Sunday are symbolic of the new life we put on when we repent and believe in the risen Lord.

10. The American tradition of eating ham on Easter can be symbolic of the old covenant being replaced by the new due to the fact that the Israelites were not permitted to eat “unclean meats” such as ham. Once Christ had fulfilled the law, God made it clear to Peter that all foods including those once forbidden were now clean. Adults and older children will benefit from the symbolism of Gentiles being grafted into the covenant.

11. Resurrection Buns are an adorable tradition to start with your children. Together you make these simple buns that are wrapped around a big marshmallow. When they are done baking the marshmallow has been melted and incorporated into the dough leaving a gigantic hole in the middle of the bun. When the children tear open the buns to look for their marshmallow they are surprised to find that it is missing just as Christ was missing from the tomb. Here is a link to a recipe.

I am sure that there are many more ideas out there. Do you know of any that I haven’t listed? I am particularly looking for some kind of symbolic side dish. Obviously none of these symbols will mean anything if we fail to think deeply on the truths behind them and explain them to our children, but they are great ways to help us in our pursuit of Christ-centered Easters.

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