Holy Week and Easter are coming up and I have been thinking about different ways to commemorate and celebrate this time with my family.
For Palm Sunday I wanted to try making small crosses out of palm branches that my girls could wear to church. I think little things like this are good for teaching children. But I don't have a lot planned for the rest of Holy Week other than making Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday and going to our evening services.
I've thought about Maundy Thursday being a day to show love for others. I read on the LCMS website that one custom was to carry gifts to the poor in baskets on that day. With that in mind I could come up with several things we could do on this day in our community or for members in our church.
For Easter Sunday in our home, our Lenten countdown crown of thorns "calendar" (sorry, I can't think of what else to call it) will be donned with white flowers and purple will be replaced with white to visually mark the change in season. I will have Easter baskets for my children (no, the Easter Bunny doesn't come to our house, just his baskets full of treats!) and a special meal prepared, but do any of you find that this particular Sunday is exhausting? Especially for your pastor husband? I always look forward to it and dread it a little to be honest. Probably because I'm married to an introvert who just wants to *nap after church AND I have tiny kiddos that tend to make the simplest events much more difficult than I'd thought! But even so, I want to do something special on this festive day.
So, what does your family do during Holy Week and Easter? I'd love to hear about your traditions!
*My husband has three service on Easter morning, 6:30, 9 and 10:30....he deserves a nap!
We don't do anything really special during Holy Week, other than attend church. We do spend Holy Saturday preparing for the Easter celebration. We bring out the Easter tote and decorate the house. Joanna especially loves to set up the resurrection scene. It's similar to a nativity scene but with a tomb for the background and the Easter persons. She loves it. We also dye eggs (as does the rest of the world). There is an Easter basket on Easter, but it has only a few small treasures.
ReplyDeleteYes, Easter Sunday is exhausting. We also drive to Minnesota for Easter with my husband's family. It is a very LONG day.
We also color eggs with our neighbors. That is fun, the girls love it. This year I'd like to try "natural" dies, I think the colors are really nice when they turn out. Your resurrection scene sounds really neat! What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine having to get in the car after all that! Aaaa!
How are you going to do natural dyes? I have always wanted to do that...so I am curious as to what you will use? We eat only brown colored eggs (free range) so I would be interested in knowing if the colors would be dark enough to bee seen over the brown eggs
ReplyDeleteKathy, I'm going to try this method: (copy and paste in new window to go to link)
ReplyDeletehttp://simpleorganic.net/how-to-color-eggs-with-natural-dyes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SimpleOrganic+%28Simple+Organic%29&doing_wp_cron
I've got frozen blueberries and cherries, red onions and turmeric to use for the colors (I forgot to get something for green!). I've never done this, so we'll see what happens!
As for brown eggs, I think you would have to use food coloring and they turn out in darker or brighter colors which sounds nice. I found this site for instructions if you're interested!
http://www.oldcentennialfarmhouse.com/2009/03/coloring-brown-eggs-for-easter.html
I think an "easter egg dye off/decorating contest" is in order! :) Well, it may be fun to see pictures at least.
We color eggs, when I remember to buy enough and set them aside. :) I have had the thought many years now to drape the crosses in our home with black on Good Friday and remove it Easter morning. I think I'll head to Hobby Lobby this year in search of black fabric. It is a long day, but we have such fun together enjoying the food and the celebrating that we make it through and just enjoy an easy day on Monday. Last year Jon wanted to do lamb on the grill for our meal. It turned out so yummy that we decided to make it our Easter meal every year. Lookin' forward to that!
ReplyDeleteLamb? Now that is a unique thought. I don't think my MIL would go for it, though. Ham is a must.
ReplyDeleteWe do the eggs and the big meal and, as Kristi said, "a few small treasures"--like bubbles. Not much can compare with the resurrection of the Son of God and the promise of eternal life... except bubbles to toddlers. :D I like the cross-draping idea, Jenny! AND the lamb... MAYBE we'll get brave this year (but ham is usually the standby, as is the NAP after our one--yes, ONE--service. Holy crow, Aubri! Your man needs a week to recover from three!).
ReplyDeletePastor Adam loves eating Lamb on Easter..it is his family tradition. I made it for him on Victrage when I went out to visit. It is an easy recipe. First select a good piece of Lamb shank. Then cut tiny slits in it,,,insert fresh pieces of garlic gloves....pour cheap red table wine over it...Bake covered for 3- 4 hours depending on size (more time needed) at 350 degrees.
ReplyDeleteBethAnn - Will you be making it again this year? Will family be joining you?
ReplyDeleteWe love bringing out the spring decor and coloring eggs on Holy Saturday. My grandma used onion skins to color her eggs and I remember them being the most beautiful and unique looking eggs ever! I tried this a few years ago but they weren't as pretty as Grandma's. I don't think I used enough onion skins to get that burnt orange color. You girls have motivated me to give it another try this year!
ReplyDeleteOur Easter morning starts early with the men of our church arriving at 4:30 to prepare the brunch. Mark heads over with his mug to share a cup of coffee with the guys. We cherish the worship with all stops pulled out and as the aroma of caramelized french toast fills the air. With bellies full, a nap is always in order once we get home! We enjoy a ham dinner on our good china later that afternoon.
BTW: What a darling picture, Aubri!
I thought of some more. We have resurrection eggs. You've probably seen them before, and it's another visual for small-fry for the Easter story. We set up our cross/peace display at the start of Lent as well. I think that's all now.
ReplyDeleteUh BethAnn, we're coming to your house for Easter diner, that sounds amazing! So does caramelized french toast Beth! Wow.
ReplyDeleteI really like the resurrection eggs too. The red is beautiful and a good teaching tool. What a fun tradition to crack them.
And thanks Beth! That was taken last Easter. I was trying so hard to get a "good" picture of the girls in their Easter dresses, but sometimes it's the pics you didn't intend that turn out to be your favorites!
What are resurrection eggs???
ReplyDeleteResurrection eggs are a dozen pastic eggs that are filled with items relating to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Bible verses are read each day, and that coordinates with the item in the egg. You can make your own set or purchase one.
ReplyDeletehttp://rainbowcastle.org/resurrectioneggs.html
Here's another site that has recipes for natural dyes for your eggs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hsclassroom.net/2011/04/natural-egg-dyes/
We attend worship services, and if I'm not to stressed and busy, we color eggs. I'm going to guess that the big kids could even take that over if I was OK with a mess! We're eating Turkey and all of the fixings. I love lamb, but it is really expensive around here and we feed eight! The boys have been begging for a turkey dinner! I sometimes do Easter baskets, if I remember. Now with Little Girls in the mix I may have to step that up:)
ReplyDeleteBethAnn, My husband was a Vicar at Adam's home congregation in 1999/2000. We have many cherished memories with your in-laws! I was Jane's neighbor and I still miss our time together on her back porch! Your family is very blessed!