Easter Traditions

Easter Egg The custom of the Easter egg originated before Christianity in the ancient  Egyptian celebration of Shemu ; It is a day that follows Easter Sunday) which is the season of harvest and rebirth, where they wrote their wishes on painted eggs and put them on windows and trees to receive the blessings of the first rays of the morning light produced by sun god Ra.

For Christians, the Easter egg is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Painting Easter eggs is an especiallybeloved tradition in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches where the eggs dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross. Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal vigil and distributed to the congregants. The hard shell of the egg represents the sealed Tomb of Christ, and cracking the shell represents Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Moreover, historically Christians would abstain from eating eggs and meat during Lent, and Easter was the first chance to eat eggs after a long period of abstinence. (Orthodox Christians continue to abstain from eggs during Lent.)

The Christian Church officially adopted the custom, regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection; in 1610 A.D., Pope Paul V proclaimed the following prayer:

Bless, O Lord! we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to thy faithful servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee on account of the resurrection of the Lord.

Easter Egg Hunt. Our Easter Egg Hunt marks the start of spring and it's always held outside if possible; this means the grass is greening, azaleas are blooming and the spring flowers brighten the back yard.  Each child has their own Easter basket that has been theirs for years.  The grandchildren and their parents go first and we all gather on the patio to see what treasures have been left by the Easter Bunny.  Then it's time for the grandchildren to hide the plastic eggs for their parents to find.  Each plastic egg has money in it, ganging from $1.00 to $100.00 the parents have 10 minutes to find the eggs.  What they find they keep.  What they don't find the grand-kids share.   The competition is keen and suspense mounts as the time runs down.

Visiting the graves of family members. Visiting graves is a tradition dating back centuries in the US, a custom allowing families not only to grieve but to honor and celebrate the lives of

those that have passed.  Many families pay respects at cemeteries on Easter as well as on Memorial Day. I think it's important to maintain a connection with those who came before us and blazed the path that we currently walk on.  This is a message that can be delivered to children with a morning visit to decorate the graves of our relatives and friends.  Easter is the perfect time to do this and create a family tradition.


Other Easter traditions include:

• Rolling Easter eggs down a hill, symbolizing the removal of the stone that blocked Jesus' tomb.
• Enjoying the Passover service together, including prayers, scripture readings,  songs, hand washing, a meal (including the eating of hard-boiled eggs as a symbol of the renewal of springtime), eating of green and bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and wine (fruit of the vine).