This month’s radio interview was on the topic of helping our kids embrace Easter. It’s easy to get distracted by the bunnies and dresses and candy of the average Easter celebration, so how do we help our kids see what this is really about? You can listen to my answers to that question here and I’m also providing a summary below. Enjoy!
How do we prepare our kids for Easter?
Lent: Help them think about what Jesus gave up in becoming human. What can they give up to remind them of that sacrifice? This also intensifies the sweetest of Easter when Lent is over. You don’t have to be in a faith tradition that recognizes Lent to make it part of your family’s experience.
Passover: The death and resurrection of Jesus took place in the context of Passover. There is something I think we miss by not connecting those experiences in our life and for our kids. Ideally, you’d want to do this with a group of Messianic Jews, but not everybody has their own group of them available 🙂 There are resources available online for explaining how to celebrate Passover and at a minimum it is great to watch “Prince of Egypt” with your kids and read the Biblical story to connect them to Passover.
Good Friday Services: The Good Friday service doesn’t feel so good. It’s beautiful to embrace the sadness and difficulty of how that would have felt to the disciples with our kids. We run from sadness so often and want to protect our kids from that, but here is a great moment to embrace it while we look forward to the hope of the resurrection. And what a beautiful picture of how we always feel about the separation of death, but the hope of heaven.
How do we celebrate Easter?
Be joyful: This is a happy time! For us, for our kids, for our church body. Set this day apart by embracing that joy, dressing up, making wonderful food, hunting for Easter eggs, whatever works for your family while keeping it focused on Jesus.
Be part of a community: Celebrate with your church body and make that the focus of your day. It’s also a great day to spend time with your family and for your kids to hear Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles, or other influential adults in their lives talking about the reality of Jesus.
Find symbols that work for your family: Resurrection Eggs are great. Resurrection Cookies are great, too. Find things that will impact your kids and help them remember and internalize the symbolism and meaning of Easter.
What does your family do that we should add to the list?