I’ve got a problem. It’s the first year to come up, but it won’t be the last.
What do I DO for my family’s Easter traditions, given that I’ll be, uh, kinda busy on Easter morning and more than a little tired in the afternoon? Oh and! My husband will be working Friday, Saturday AND Sunday because he’s a first year medical resident and gets the worst shifts (yes, he also worked on Christmas Day. And Thanksgiving Day.)
In the spirit of creating family traditions as a church worker, here’s what I’ve planned: going to a Friday afternoon service with my son, dyeing eggs and baking Easter bread together on Saturday, and sharing a potluck lunch with family and friends on Sunday.
Obviously I’ve celebrated Easter many times before, but this is my first year with a child who’s old enough to anticipate and remember. Last year, he couldn’t even understand that the plastic Easter eggs had candy in them. This year, I made the mistake of telling him about Easter eggs back in March. Now he keeps asking, “Is it Easter Egg Day yet?”
It’s not that I care about Easter egg hunts (I don’t).
But I don’t want my son’s primary memory of his childhood Easters to be, “Mom was always busy, and there was candy.”
So tell me – how do you mark the spiritual significance of Holy Week and Easter, in spite of your busy schedule?
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I’ve learned over the years that it is easier for me to have my big family dinner on Saturday! Come Easter Sunday- it’s reservations for hubs and myself somewhere nice. And quiet!!
I have raised 5 kids and currently foster 6 , while working as a church musician. When my kids were young, I could usually find someone to hide eggs while we were at church. The Easter bunny left one special item at their bedroom door for when they woke up, and then they came home to an egg hunt . They are adults now, and still never figured out how that happened. Nowadays, The E>B> doesn’t tell us when he is coming, but we pray for sun, and sometimes he comes while they are napping or not paying attention inside. The day before every holiday is a frantic cook a thon, and I do as many dishes as I can that can be made ahead. It is stressful, just like Christmas, but we somehow get everything done, and we have lots of great family memories of these traditions.
Hi!
So I’m a mother of many children and a church musician. I’ve been doing this seriously for many, many years (like 17). My eldest is 20.
First of all, for gifts, we keep the candy to a minimum. Usually only a couple of kinds of their favourite chocolate and maybe something from Grandma… that way it is not about the treats.
I’m Catholic and my husband brought all of our kids to every liturgy (well maybe not the Vigil… it’s three hours) over Easter. He usually sits at the front, or as close to it as possible and gives a running dialogue explaining things. We also explain on the way to and from church.
We accidentally found out about the local Ukrainian Church that puts on an egg salad sandwich lunch and has kids decorate eggs the Ukrainian way on Good Friday. In the evening we attend Stations of the Cross OR in the morning, there was an ecumenical outdoor “Way of the Cross” in a local small town. This was an effective way of keeping Christ in Good Friday.
We abstain from meat on Good Friday and try to take that into Holy Saturday and then have a nice bacon and something else breakfast on Easter Morning.
The local Polish Parish does a nice job of blessing baked goods on Easter Saturday. We did that a couple of times (though they sang some Polish hymn with lots of Alleluias which drove me a little bonkers).
We also do have a lovely Easter Dinner on Easter Sunday. I try to make a special dessert (something I can make a couple of weeks prior and freeze) and we have people over to celebrate – yes, I’m crazy.
You will always be tired on Christmas and Easter. It’s tough. ((((hugs))) to you and know you are not alone! Just do your best!
God bless!
How absolutely brilliant to use your neighbours and friends to help you. I want to be that neighbour/friend/person in the congregation to help families in some way! Yes, use the people who want to help you!
What a wonderful gift!
I like the nice and quiet reservation idea 🙂
What a great idea! My kid is still so little I think I could literally hide eggs while he’s in the same room and he might not notice lol!
How wonderful! I’m so curious what your frozen dessert is?! I love make-ahead things, especially for these big holy days… Taking notes on all the things you mentioned!