Raised as a Christian, my family always celebrated Easter; and I’ve carried on that tradition with my children… Church on Easter Sunday, with nice new outfits, and then a big lunch and Easter egg hunts with family….
Over the past couple of years however, I’ve dug deeper into my relationship with God. And I’ve found myself searching to better understand the things I believe and the traditions I practice. I’ve taken time to think about what I’m passing down, and what I’m instilling in my children in the process. I’ve also asked myself if there are perhaps important things, that may be getting lost in translation along the way….
The past couple of Christmases, my husband and I have prepared advent calendars for the girls, with daily Bible readings and surprises leading up to Christmas Day. We put our effort into that new tradition as a way to place more focus on the reason for the celebration, instead of it being all about gifts…
This year I’ve found myself thinking a lot about Easter and it’s significance. I know my girls could both answer the question of why we celebrate this holiday… But is it possible that the true significance of Easter may be overshadowed in their minds by easter egg hunts, candy, and bunnies?….
So last month, I began looking into the origins of Easter, thinking maybe I could introduce some new and meaningful traditions to the kids this year. I just so happened to be reading in the Bible in the book of Exodus, about how the Passover feast was instituted by God as a way to celebrate the Israelites’ rescue from Egypt. And around the same time, I also noticed some friends posting on facebook about what they were giving up for Lent…. All of this combined to lead me down a rabbit-hole of educating myself on Easter, and Passover, and Lent… Oh my!
(“Rabbit-hole”…. “Easter”…. haha!…. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
I started out reading about Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter. I had heard of Lent, of course; but my knowledge was pretty limited. Predominately a Catholic holiday, the 40 days are a time of fasting and repentance in preparation for Easter Sunday. The number 40 was chosen in honor of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week.
The main days celebrated during Holy Week are Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and then of course Easter Sunday. As I learned about the significance of each day, Maundy Thursday was the one that really stuck out to me. This was the day that Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples (later known as the Last Supper), which included foot-washing and the taking of communion.
I don’t think I ever realized that the Last Supper was actually a Passover meal; so this of course led me further down the rabbit-hole to researching Passover. Also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread established in the book of Exodus, Passover is a Jewish holiday celebrating the Israelites’ rescue from captivity and escape from Egypt (known as the “Exodus”). The very first Passover began with the Jews slaughtering a lamb and applying its blood to their doors, so that the death angel would “pass over” their house; and then proceeding in faith to get ready to flee from Egypt. Today, Passover celebrations begin with an elaborate meal, full of tradition and symbolism about Israel and about that first Passover night long ago.
Passover is celebrated for 7 days by some, 8 days by others; and it begins on the evening of the first full moon after the spring equinox, known as the Paschal Full Moon. This means that there was actually a full moon lighting their way when the Jews fled from Egypt; and because the Last Supper was a Passover meal, there was also likely a full moon shining on that fateful night. The moonlight shone down as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, ate with them, and spoke to them of things to come; it was shining as Judas left the dinner with betrayal on his mind; as Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray; and even when Jesus was betrayed with a kiss and arrested….
The final stop down that rabbit-hole I had found myself in, was of course Easter. This mainstream holiday is also referred to as Resurrection Sunday by some. The term “easter” is said to possibly have originated from a pagan festival celebrating Eostre, a spring goddess. The symbols of rabbits and eggs may possibly have been used to represent spring, as well as fertility. These symbols have now become our Easter traditions of bunnies and egg hunts.
I had noticed that Easter fell on different days every year, though around the same time and always on a Sunday. My research uncovered that Easter is celebrated on whatever date the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon falls on. This explains why it falls on different dates each year, as well as it’s connection to Passover.
Gathering all my new-found information, I began to reflect on all the connections I’d noticed between Lent, Passover, and Easter. I began to question what aspects of each I wanted to incorporate into my family’s traditions, and what principles I wanted to emphasis to my children this Easter…
I couldn’t help but zero in on the Last Supper. It’s commemorated on Lent’s Maundy Thursday; and it was actually a Passover meal. It included the very first taking of communion, which was the taking of bread and wine as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. The same body and blood that would be broken and spilled the very next day, Good Friday…. All of this culminated in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday, once and for all fulfilling the need for sacrifice for sin.
After much thought, I came to the conclusion that the Last Supper was the key element I wanted to focus on. This year on the Thursday before Easter, I want to teach my girls about what transpired on that day. I want to take the opportunity to teach them the origins of the Passover meal that Jesus was sharing with his disciples. About how it was a celebration of God’s miraculous rescue of the Israelites on the first Passover night… I want to tell them about how Jesus transformed that passover meal into the taking of communion, in order to reveal to his disciples that He was the ultimate sacrificial Lamb; who was about to lay down His life as a perfect sacrifice once and for all… I want to teach them about how He humbled Himself and showed love to His disciples that day, by kneeling down to wash their feet, dirty from their travels. And how He then explained that that act was also a symbol for the cleansing of sin that His sacrifice would bring….
I want to take time to teach, and perhaps even reenact, those aspects of the Last Supper. I want to make it real to my children (and to myself), and help them to see the connections leading up to Resurrection Sunday, and why we celebrate that day. I want to help them see how it all pointed (and still points) to Jesus…. Our Sacrificial Lamb, who was slaughtered and who rose again; and whose blood is applied to our lives when we confess Him as our Savior. So that, when the angel of death comes our way, looking to kill and to destroy… the precious blood of Jesus that has cleansed us will be our covering; and death will have to “pass over” us.
How amazing is the love of God, revealed to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! May God help me to incorporate these new traditions into our family’s Easter this year; and may these traditions change and bless us…. As I also pray blessings for you and yours this Easter! <3
87 Responses
That was amazing!! Yes a new tradition !!!
I quit doing hunting for eggs a long time ago!!
I thought of why our saviors face was beaten unrecognizable? To show us God doesn’t recognize us in our sin!! But this blood the precious blood covers us!! So God only sees his Son when he sees us!
Thank you for sharing this Charity❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for commenting! I’m so glad that God urged me to get back to the true reason for this celebration.
And I love the perspective that you shared! We are covered by Jesus’ sacrifice. <3
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