Dear Ellie,
Easter is just about upon us. And we are quite busy this Easter weekend- with the usual
traditions of egg hunts, church, and a big family dinner.
Final Thought: Continue
to always ask why…. don’t do things simply because people tell you, know the
meaning and depth behind what is asked of you!
This year, we started hiding Resurrection Eggs and making
Easter cookies for Easter, a tradition I want to continue throughout the
years. Both tell the story of
Jesus’ last days. For the Resurrection
Eggs, I hid them first. You would
find them and then we would read the biblical passages (actually, the
simplified preschool version), opening each egg (finding a concrete piece of
the story) to begin a new chapter.
For instance, you found a donkey in the first egg representing Palm
Sunday and how the people treated Jesus as a king.
We opened 12 eggs in total, the last being a white empty
one. That represented the empty
tomb in which Jesus had risen. I
loved the passage about Judah in particular; you compared him to Hans in Frozen
(and I thought that was brilliant… yes Ellie, both were pretenders).
The Easter cookies (also known as
Resurrection cookies) were fun to make and each step of the recipe also
recounted Jesus’ last moments on Earth so it reinforced the egg activity.
One of the final steps was sealing the
oven (which represented the tomb) and we had to leave the cookies in there for
several hours (the directions said to preheat the oven and as soon as the
cookie sheet is inserted, you turn the oven off). The prompt for this part of the activity was to get you to
understand sadness… because you had to wait (symbolizing the grief of those who
loved Jesus). You weren’t even the
slightest bit sad because you had been eating the M&M’s and batter
throughout the whole recipe so your belly was full!
We dyed our Easter eggs talking about how they symbolize new
life (just as spring is allowing those buds to form on the trees outside).
You asking why and looking for explanations is not just with
the Easter holiday, the word ‘why’ has become quite the theme in our house
lately. Your questions are so
thoughtful but it’s hard for me to explain them in your terms so I often go to YouTube
for visual support (which helped you understand why it rains and why you can
see the moon in the daytime).
Ellie, especially with matters of faith, don’t hesitate to
question. It will deepen your
understanding of all things.
Happy Easter my sweet girl!
Love you,
Mom
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