Even the most faithful parents can become overwhelmed by the commotion of the holiday season—the dress shopping, party organizing, and egg stuffing—forgetting to stress Christ's resurrection in the celebrations.
In the following article, we will explain further the meanings of each day leading up to Easter Sunday and some activities for the family to do to help them further understand their significance. There are several websites that will help you find more ideas if you need them. Focus with the Family is a good site to use, but there are others available, also.
How Families Celebrate and Emphasize Easter
The three days prior to Easter are included in the remembrance of the Easter season and are also called Holy Days. They are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Each day’s historical events lead to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Understanding them may make the significance of Sunday’s event clearer.
Maundy Thursday
According to scripture, this is the day when Jesus and His disciples sat in the Upper Room and had “The Last Supper.” Which is the meal when He passed bread and wine and told them they represented His body, broken for them and the blood shed for them. He also washed their feet.
These were signs of how much he loved them and us. We can discuss love with our family and talk about some things we love about them or ways we can show our love to people, friends, family, or new people we meet. For younger children, have them draw pictures of things that describe love.
Good Friday
The darkest day of the year is Good Friday, the day Jesus was viciously beaten and crucified. That’s one way to look at it, but knowing what happens next makes it a good day, hence the name “Good Friday."
His death on the cross was His way of taking the punishment for us, sacrificing His life for us. Church services held on this night usually end in darkness and silence.
Good Friday is a time for families to reflect on the sacrificial demonstration of the great love Christ has for us. A possible discussion topic could be to talk about how people today sacrifice for others. Families could build wooden crosses as a reminder of Christ’s ugly cross.
Holy Saturday
Today, Saturday is often a day for preparation for Sunday services and family dinners. Not so in Jesus’ time. It was the Sabbath, and no work could be done.
In our Saturday activities today, things such as egg coloring, neighborhood egg hunts, and picnics sometimes happen on Saturday. Resurrection eggs are a great alternative to candy eggs because they contain scripture references that are from the Easter story. Sometimes the reference is in the form of a mini toy or picture for all ages to recognize.
When coloring eggs, it’s fun to draw Easter symbols, such as a cross or flower and then dye the egg. The picture stands out for all to see.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday church services are glorious! The music is joyful, the sermon is uplifting, and the church is usually overflowing.
Grandparents visit their children and grandchildren. People have on their very best, usually new clothes and shoes. There is a great celebration for our risen Lord! The excitement of the women who came to the tomb when they saw the stone was rolled away is contagious! We feel it today.
Remember that cross that was built on Good Friday? Today on Resurrection Sunday, flowers are brought to decorate it, beautify it, cover the ugliness of Calvary’s cross, and to symbolize the new life Christ gave to us. Talk about this with your family. Lift praises to God and thank Him for sending His Son for our salvation.
Secular Traditions
As fun as the Easter bunny and baskets are to play with, they really have nothing to do with the Life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Easter bunny has been connected to the pagan goddess of fertility.
Emmanuel Lutheran School
At Emmanuel Lutheran School, we observe Easter because it acknowledges that we can put an end to our old way of life and rise to a new life in Christ. Dying to self is a necessity for living a life for Christ. But we have good reason to celebrate both the spiritual resurrection we have already experienced and the bodily resurrection we will soon witness.
In accordance with our guiding principles at Emmanuel Lutheran School, we will incorporate the Christian meaning of Easter in our curriculum and daily activities around the season of Easter. The guiding principle is:
Integrating God’s Word – ELS’s faculty and staff strive to lead by example, believing that by demonstrating Christ-like love, our students will grow up more confident and eager to do the same.
In the same way, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ to fulfill our beliefs and values as outlined in the Christian faith.
Lutherans believe that:
- The Bible is the inspired Word of God – it is absolute truth;
- God is one God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
- God the Father sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for all people. When He rose from the dead, Christ overcame sin, death, and the devil and made possible eternal life in Heaven for all who believe in Him;
- God sent the Holy Spirit to empower all believers to live their lives according to His Word.
Lutheran Core Values
- Scripture Alone – God’s revelation of Himself, through the inerrant Word of His Law and Gospel in the Bible, to His most loved creation-man.
- Grace Alone – Only by the empowering grace of God can we hope to approach and understand our Creator. His greatest evidence of grace to us is found in His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Faith Alone – Having begun to see the greatness of God’s love for us as understood in His Word through the gracious intention of His will, our faithful response comes in areas such as:
- Our belief in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
- Our realization of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
- Our foundation that life is of God and, as such, is always precious
- Our worship of God is active through both corporate fellowship and daily devotions and prayer, and our giving back to God with all that we have and do
- Our relationships with each other are extensions of God’s love
- Our excitement over His love for us compels us to make disciples of all
- Our integrity is seen in every one of our actions
For additional information about how you can celebrate and emphasize Easter with your family, please feel free to reach out to us today. We will also be happy to send you more information about enrolling your child, or to answer any questions you may have about our school.