Easter Sunday

Having older kids has been an interesting transition when it comes to holidays. We no longer do all of the little traditions that young kids typically do (Santa, elves, leprechauns, etc.), so we have had to come up with some new traditions. I love being with family and celebrating really meaningful parts of holidays, so I was actually excited about coming up with new activities. Easter has been especially wonderful because it has allowed us to focus more on the real reason to celebrate and ditch the eggs and Easter bunny. 

Our ward this year did a special focus on Easter where we were encouraged to study and celebrate together as a family. Each week they gave ideas about what we could do. Week One was to plan a new tradition, Week Two was to listen to uplifting music about the Savior (Handel's Messiah etc.), Week Three was to plan a service project, and Week Four was to hold a Christ-centered Easter activity. I was grateful for the emphasis on Christ from our leaders. 

For our service, Jonathon and I took the youth from our ward to the temple to perform baptisms for the dead. I love when the youth gather together to attend the temple. It is powerful! It was also really neat to be able to see Christian perform the baptisms and Andrew be baptized, along with the other youth. I made a big tray of homemade cinnamon rolls that we enjoyed together afterward.

For our Christ-centered Easter activity, we read and watched videos about the last week of Jesus' life. I found this great study guide with QR codes linked to the church videos that made it really easy. We printed it off and gave it to our ministering families to enjoy as well.

On Easter we also had a middle Eastern meal similar to what people during the time of Christ would have eaten. I made a special effort to find foods that were part of the Passover meal or symbolic of Christ. We ended up with quite the amazing feast and enjoyed it with Jonathon's mom and dad. Our menu consisted of: Lamb (Christ, the lamb of God), unleavened bread (the haste of the Israelites leaving Egypt), Charoset (an apple dish symbolic of the mortar the slaves used for bricks), cilantro (bitter herbs for the bitterness of slavery), hard-boiled eggs (hope, sacrifice, rebirth), grape juice (wine used for the Sacrament), cheeses, nuts, olives, hummus, grapes, and for dessert, dates filled with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate. Everything was delicious. 

Jonathon went to the extra effort to put together a little Seder program. It didn't follow the official Seder, but we read scriptures, discussed symbolism, and went through the process that a Jewish family would. It was really a beautiful way to celebrate Easter, and I hope to build on and improve it each year.