6 Easy Traditions to Create a Christ-Centered Easter

We have enjoyed many Easter egg hunts, pictures with the Easter bunny, and baskets full of candy through the years. In the midst of it all, I have really struggled with how all of that fun seems to overshadow the true meaning of Easter and Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Here are a few ideas of what we have done to shift the focus at Easter time to one with Christ as the focus, and no we don’t have to do away with all of the candy and fun. Consider inviting others to join you in these activities and help them also have a more Christ-Centered Easter. Remember to take lots of pictures to capture these fun traditions with your family and friends.

1. Separate the Spiritual and the Secular

There is nothing wrong with having Easter baskets, egg hunts, and other holiday fun. Consider having separate days when you can have all of the secular fun and keeping Easter focused on Jesus. You can still have a Christ-centered Easter by implementing a few of these ideas below in addition to the secular traditions you have in place as long as you separate and help your family have a “Bunny Day” a day or week or two before Easter.

2. Resurrection Eggs

This simple idea of reading a scripture and opening a plastic Easter eggs with a surprise item inside that represents Jesus and his story. Begin 12 days before Easter and open one each day to help think about and remember the life of Christ and the weeks leading up to His death and Resurrection. Children especially love opening an egg each day to see the surprise inside. Here is a link to an premade one or here is a cute one you can print off from Etsy. Here is a link to an Free DIY kit with inexpensive fillers.

3. Special Jerusalem Dinner

On the Thursday before Easter we have a special Jerusalem dinner to think about the Last Supper that Jesus would have had with the Apostles before His sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and then his death on the cross in Calvary. This last meal that Jesus partook of with His apostles was the Passover meal where the Jews were asked to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread, or the Passover, in an attempt to follow the command in Exodus 13:1-8. This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the parallel between the Passover celebration by the Jews and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This activity can be very simple while your children are young and can grow as your children’s age and interest increases.

Some ideas:

Scholars assume that Jesus ate the simple foods of a peasant. Wine (grape juice), fish, bread, parched grains, lentils, figs, olives, and olive oil are all foods Jesus would likely have eaten.

Simple meal ideas – grape juice, tortillas, dried figs, olives, and cheese.

We often have fun trying to make our own unleavened bread to eat with our meal. Here is a link to a simple recipe. You could make your meal a little more complex by adding hummus, lentil soup, dates, pomegranates, apricots, eggs, and cucumbers, nuts, and meats.

The Bible discusses that after the Last Supper Jesus and His apostles sung a hymn before leaving for the Garden of Gethsemane. We too try to end our activity by singing a hymn.

4. Easter Breakfast Rolls

One of our favorite and most delicious Easter Traditions is making Resurrection Rolls. This activity helps us discuss and remember the story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We do this activity the night before Easter and enjoy them as part of a delicious Easter morning breakfast. There is also a variation to the recipe if you want to do it all at once. Here is a link to our Resurrection Rolls Recipe where I wrote about this fun family tradition.

5. Easter Advent

Along with our Resurrection Eggs as a countdown to Easter, we also try to read some of the accounts of the people who lived at the time of Christ and remember some of their stories and how following Jesus blessed their lives. We have this Easter Advent but there are lots of others that highlight the last few days of Jesus’s life. Etsy is full of fun options like this one. I love this simple and inexpensive one that includes thought provoking questions to help us. You can even print or cut out pictures from magazines that represent the last week of Jesus’ life. The Story of Easter: A Christian Easter Book for Kids would be great for preschoolers.

6. Have a Devotional on Easter Morning

Sing a Resurrection Hymn such as “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “I Know that My Redeemer Lives,” or “He is Risen.” Offer a prayer or gratitude for the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Retell the story of Christ’s Resurrection found in John 20:1-18 and Luke 24:13-35. Share thoughts and feelings of Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection.