It’s beginning to look a lot like…Easter

Those that have followed me in the past, know I love holidays.  Here at the circus we celebrate any time we get a chance.  Who doesn’t love some themed treats and fun crafts? 

But two holidays hold special significance for us. 

Christmas and Easter

They are not just days to get dressed up and partake of traditions.

And to set them a part we spend a great deal of time, as in weeks, preparing for them.  They are more than a day, but rather a season of celebration.

So, when I heard about this carnival going on over at Becoming Me, I was eager to link up.  She’s hosting a carnival where people can link up with their Easter traditions and stories.

We have a few Easter traditions here.  In addition to inviting both sets of grandparents over the Saturday before Easter to join us in dyeing eggs and going for an egg hunt, our biggest tradition is spending the weeks prior to Easter focusing the significance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, for our sins.

I imagine that as the kids grow, the manner in which we focus, will change, but it is my hope that the focus on Christ will not.  Last year we worked on learning the hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen today.”  We sang it each night before bed.  This way the kids were able to participate in singing it on Easter Sunday at church.  Also, I felt like we spend a lot of time learning and singing Christmas carols, and I wanted to spend time learning some “Easter Carols” as well.   I also have several Easter board books which talk about the true meaning of Easter which I get out around this time so we can read them and talk about them.   Last year we did a mosaic craft of the cross in which the kids ripped pieces of construction paper and we glued them to a poster board to make a big decoration for our wall.  I’d like to do that again.  I also found some foam crosses at Michael’s which we put our names on and hung on our wall, remembering that Christ died on the cross, for us.  Last year we used the Resurrection Eggs to tell the Easter story to the kids.  My son particularly liked this and has already asked about it for this year. 

Easter is about a month away.  I am looking forward to this time of reflection, confession, and worship.   What does your family do to celebrate Easter?

For more thoughts on this holiday, check out the carnival at Becoming Me.