A couple years ago I wrote a post filled with ways to celebrate a Christ-centered Easter. Since then our own family traditions have slowly begun to take shape and “set” if you will. I, in no way, mean to imply that I am done implementing new traditions (I am sure I will be trying out some new activities this year). Today, however, I would like to share with you some of the ways our little family tries to purposefully keep this holiday about our Savior by celebrating his death and resurrection.
Hot Cross Buns
“…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23 ESV)
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8 ESV)
As the season progresses I will be making these delicious fruit-filled buns with my children. They are a simple bread to make and provide an excellent opportunity to meditate on Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross. As we squeeze the yummy icing onto each bun and slowly make the cross symbol I explain that it was on a cross that our Savior suffered and died for our sins.
Good Friday Meal
“…and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”’ (John 1:36 ESV)
“…and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”’ (Matthew 27:29 ESV)
On the Friday before Easter we take a special meal to remember the Lord’s crucifixion. I decorate the table with a wooden cross and candles. (See here where I suggest using wood from your Christmas tree for this cross.) On the cross I attach fresh rose petals to symbolize Christ’s blood. As I rip the petals off of these beautiful flowers and pin them to the cross I am reminded of Christ willingly suffering and giving up his life so that I might experience life everlasting. (On Easter morning I remove the rose petals to signify his resurrection.) For dinner we enjoy lamb to symbolize Jesus being the sacrificial “Lamb of God” and a special Easter bread that’s shape symbolizes the crown of thorns our Savior wore as he suffered and died. After we have finished eating my husband reads the Biblical account of the crucifixion to us and then the children blow out all of the candles symbolizing the Light of the World’s death.
Fasting
“And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Matthew 9:15 ESV)
After our Good Friday meal my husband and I fast until Easter morning. Fasting is a way to focus our hearts on the Lord and draw near to him. It is a time to dedicate yourself to prayer and meditation. From Friday night on we dedicate our time and thoughts to meditating on the beauty of the cross, appreciating Christ’s death, and looking forward to the celebration of his resurrection.
Easter Eggs
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses…” (Colossians 2:13 ESV)
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22 ESV)
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103 ESV)
Easter eggs have been a symbol of new life for generations. Much of the symbolism has been lost today as the world focuses on a Bunny instead of a Savior, but in our home eggs are symbol of Christ giving new life to his people through his death and resurrection. We celebrate with eggs in three ways. The first is the traditional egg dying which is always a fun activity for children.
On Good Friday I dye some eggs dark red to symbolize the blood of Christ that brings us all to perfection. There is something so incredible about dipping this perfectly white egg into dark, bloody red that focuses my heart on the sacrifice of the pure lamb on my behalf. I use these eggs in the Easter Bread above.
The third way we celebrate with eggs is through the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. Though our hunt is a little different than others. First of all, there is no bunny. I don’t particularly have anything against the Easter Bunny (besides the fact that he tends to distract from our Savior during this holiday), I just don’t feel he is necessary for our celebration, so he is largely ignored this time of the year. Each egg contains some candy and a scripture that reminds us how sweet a relationship with the Lord is. Just as candy (and things like honey in Biblical terms) are sweet to our taste, the Lord and his Word are sweet to our souls as we draw near to him.
New Clothes
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices…” (Colossians 2:19 ESV)
Every year we buy a new outfit for our children to wear to Church. The new clothes are a simple reminder that Christ both clothes us in his righteousness and gives us a new, redeemed nature. (To get your own clothing tags like the ones below click here.)
Resurrection Buns
“But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:5-6 ESV)
On Easter day I make Resurrection Buns with my children. They are simple crescent rolls wrapped around cinnamon/sugar covered marshmallows. As the rolls bake, the marshmallows disappear into the bread creating an “empty tomb” and a yummy sweet bread. Children find these rolls exciting as they find the marshmallow has disappeared and adults find them just plain tasty! It is a fun way to teach your children about Christ’s miraculous resurrection. As they open their rolls to find the marshmallow missing you have the opportunity to explain that in the same way, the disciples found that Jesus was missing from his tomb. Our Lord as been raised from the dead!
These are some of the simple ways that we as a family celebrate an Easter focused on Christ. I pray that these examples will encourage you to be purposeful in how you guide your own heart as well as our children’s hearts this Easter season. May Christ be exalted and treasured through our traditions!
Click here to read more ways that you can celebrate Christ this Easter.
How do you celebrate a Christ-centered Easter? I would love to hear your suggestions!
This post is linked up at Time~Warp Wife
Thank you so much for these ideas! I am definitely going to borrow a few this Easter! I love the idea of traditions, but have a hard time actually making them happen each year. Lord willing, I’ll have many more years to try (and hopefully succeed) though.
Oh Katie, I know just how you feel. It is so important to not feel as though you have this burden of creating and implementing traditions. It is easy to feel (as the wives & mommies) that we have to perfect these things as quickly as possible. I have learned and am still learning to take it slowly and each year add something(s) new rather than all at once try to have the perfect holiday. The Lord desires us to focus our hearts on him, so I try to do as much as I can to focus my (and my children’s) hearts on Christ and not bother with anything that gets me too stressed out. As the years progress and more traditions become set in our family it becomes easier and easier to implement new traditions. Thank you for your sweet thoughts. Be encouraged! ~Love, Jessalyn
Wow, how beautiful!!! I love all of these ideas, and look forward to beginning our own Easter traditions as our daughter grows older. Can’t wait to share these with my husband. Thank you for pointing us to Christ, and sharing how you shepherd your own children through the Church’s greatest celebration. How cool! Thank you
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Thank you for your comment Rachel. I am glad that you were encouraged and pray that you and your family will have a wonderful Christ-exalting Easter!
JESSALYN — these ideas are seriously seriously soooo sooo good. What I love about them is how they affect YOU as you rip the rose petals and fast and dye the eggs. . . very meaningful activities. Great list!! We also have no bunny with our eggs.
I do like to use lambs, though, much as you do when you eat the lamb on good Friday. I give Susie a toy lamb each year and we get them out during Holy Week. I think this year I will get them out at passover and read the story to her and maybe paint the door red.
Thanks for posting your suggestions. Blessings, sister!
Oh, I like the idea of giving toy lambs. Hmmmm… Thank you for sharing! Love you girl!
Thanks for these great ideas! I definitely want to implement the hot buns this year & talk with my husband about fasting. We always do the Resurrection Eggs from Family Life leading up to Easter. It has been a great way to focus our kids’ hearts on the true meaning of Easter. I began reading Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross edited by Nancy Guthrie this week to prepare my heart. We also have an evening Good Friday service at our church which is such a great way to focus exclusively on the cross with the people of God. Those are just a few things we do to try to have a Christ centered Easter instead of a commercial Easter (we don’t do the bunny either).
Thank you for sharing Dianna! I have often considered doing the resurrection eggs and this might be a good time to introduce them to our little boys (the oldest is 3). Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross is a great resource for Easter time meditations! I’m planning to linking to this book as a recommendation next week. Have a wonderful Easter!
We introduced the Resurrection Eggs when our oldest was 2, but he really got it last year when he was 3 & wanted to do more than one egg a day – oh, the excitement and anticipation! Our boys are 2 & 4 now, so it should be fun this year and I’m looking forward to our 4 year olds question and understanding since he has been asking lots of good questions about the gospel already. Such a great opportunity to share!
mmmm! I think we’ll be coming to your house for Good Friday. ;o)
Cute ideas!! We usually do the empty tomb rolls as well every year. Unfortunately, we do the egg hunt with family- and the kids just run around like ravenous wolves…so there is really no time for explanations. HAHA! I love the egg dying tie- in. Will use that one for sure!!
Thankfully we do our Easter Egg hunt at my parents where we have the oldest grandkids so we kind of get to set the pace.
I don’t stress though about getting all of the right words in or giving all of the lengthy explanations at just the right time. The wonderful thing about traditions is that they come every year and over as time progresses I know that our children will be able to get more and more out of the symbolism. Something that is childish and just plain fun for little ones can be very pressing and impactful as they grow and as they are able to better understand it with our help.
and by oldest grandkids, I mean the only grandkids! Hope that changes soon…. Colton… Chelsea…?
by the way, I LOVE your rose dishes!!! So pretty!
I can’t take credit for them. They are my mom’s! She has pretty good taste, I think she gets it from me.
I love these ideas! I found your blog through Rachel at The Purposeful Wife.. I am very much looking forward to reading more of your posts. I’m a relatively new stay-at-home-mom, and very much desiring to grow in my Christian walk and in my mothering. Just reading through your blog so far has been a great encouragement to me. I will definitely be back.
I am glad the Lord brought you to Desiring Virtue. I hope that it will continue to be an encouragement to you! The Lord is so gracious to provide us with everything we need to be the mothers we desire to be through Christ! I look forward to getting to know you better. Thank you for commenting to let me know you are here!
Great ideas!
Jessalyn,
Thanks so much for sharing these ideas! We are really looking forward to doing the Resurrection Buns! We don’t do an Easter Egg hunt here, instead I make cookies shaped like gingerbread men and hide them around the house Sunday morning. When the girls wake up I tell them “Go tell the disciples Jesus has risen! He has risen!” It’s a lot of fun
That is a really cute idea Hollie!
Such great ideas! I’m a first time Mom to a 19 month old and I’m trying to find Christ centered ways for us to celebrate Easter. I was wondering if you could share the hot cross buns recipe you used? Thanks so much!
Hi Deanna! I used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe and they turned out great! Here is the link: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/hot-cross-buns/
My husband and I are believers and want to start these types of traditions that bring the holidays back to Jesus. What do you suggest when both sides of Grandparents think that the traditions are wierd or awkward? We tried implementing some advent traditions this year and we had family staying at the house for a bit — because of some comments we ended up not doing it after the first day but then felt sad that we couldn’t share our faith and traditions in our own home without feeling awkward. And what about if we have easter at the Grandparents house – They would think all the talk about Jesus would be wierd. Thoughts? Everytime we near a holiday and as our daughter is getting old enough to understand — this topic causes me stress.
I’m sorry that I haven’t responded to your comment Joy. Please forgive my tardiness! I have proposed your question to the ladies on DV’s Facebook page and have already gotten one really helpful and encouraging recommendation from a woman I really respect (in real life!). I hope you will check out some encouragement from other sisters in the faith and be encouraged. If I can think of anything to add I will later tonight. -Love Jessalyn
Here is the link to the FB post: https://www.facebook.com/DesiringVirtue/posts/126542797526589?comment_id=72873¬if_t=share_comment
Did you know i totally stole your idea from this post last year? and i will be repeating some of these last year too..I can’t get over your red roses embedded cross.This imagery has stuck with me ever since i have seen it for the first time…and your dishes ..beautiful Jessalyn.
Oh sweet Nive… you are such an encouragement. Oh, and those are my mom’s dishes. She has excellent taste.
Can you share the recipe/instructions for making your special Easter bread in the shape of the crown of thorns? Thanks so much for your neat ideas!
I just followed the “click to read more” link and found the recipe for Italian Easter bread. Thank you!!!