Bunnies, bonnets and baby chicks--the Easter Bunny brings into our homes a basketful of cultural traditions for celebrating Easter. If we let them, these traditions acan overshadow our family's celebration of the death-defying love of God and divert our children's attention from the Lord's resurrection.
What's a parent to do? How can we help our children celebrate the true meaning of Easter when all around us are symbols and traditions that point our chidren in every direction but the empty tomb?
We're often tempted to ignore the secular, cultural traditions and start some of our own. That way, our children will know exactly what we believe about Easter. Some families I know have made this choice--and it's one I respect.
But precisely because such traditions are so much a part of the world in which our children live, I recommend another approach.
In case we've forgotten, Easter, with its many traditions, is just plain fun. And that's as it should be. "The Lord is risen", those first believers cried. Death was defeated. Easter IS a time to celebrate!
I'll admit that a simple resolution to help our children learn the true meaning of Easter can become pretty complicated. Named for a pagan godess of Spring, Oestre, Easter observances began long before the birth of Christ. The festivals marked the beginning of Spring and the annual awakening of the earth after the long, cold "death" of winter.
These must have been long anticipated festivals in which families participated enthusiastically. So you can imagine that after the Lord's resurrection, families of believers faced the same dilemma: how to point their children beyond the pagan aspects of the festival to God's miraculous raising of his son from the dead.
The first Christian parents apparently decided not to withdraw from or ignore this Spring celebration , even though it was pagan. In the festival's underlying theme of thankfulness for new life, they saw an opportunity for an object lesson.
These parents transformed the traditions and symbols of the old festival and gave them deeper meaning that pointed directly to the risen Christ. They understood that their children learned well from such object lessons --and from familiar symbols and practices already understood and enjoyed.
Our children can, too.
EASTER OBJECT LESSONS
I'm so glad that my parents kept Easter traditions alive. When I was a child, our family would gather in the kitchen of our farm house the night before Easter for an eg-dyeing session. And each Easter morning, we children hoped (vainly, it turned out) to find a baby chick or two among all the chocolate in our Easter baskets. These fun-filled rituals only added to my anticipation of Easter!
For centuries before Chrit's birth, people associated eggs with new life (where DID all those chicks come from, anyway?) So egg dyeing can be an opportunity to teach about the new life God offers.
Why not decorate eggs with Christian symbols of the Easter celebration? Crayons or felt tip markers can be used to draw a cross or tomb with the stone rolled away.
If your traditions include buying new clothes for Easter, they, too, can be a simple but powerful object lesson. New clothes can symbolize the new righteousness ("right-ness") we can have with God because of Christ's death and resurrection. Just as we put on new clothes, we can put on this new life and "right-ness" because of the Lord's victory over sin and death.
We can explain Easter baskets to our children in the same way. Just as we give Christmas presents in honor of the gift God gave us at Christmas, we can give a basket at Easter in honor of Christ's gift of new life.
Many families exchange Easter cards each year, but greeting cards can be expensive. Designing and making your own card to send to others is one way to help de-commercialize Easter and enjoy some family time together. As family members design and make cards, they can draw Christian symbols and write in a Christian message.
The early Christians handed down another tradition that many children will love. From the earliest years after the resurrection, Christians greeted each other on Easter morning with "The Lord is Risen". Back woudl come the reply "He is Risen, indeed!".This simple, stirring affirmation of the resurrection can be leanred by even very young children. They'll look forward to spreading the news to everyone they see Easter morning--and waiting for the excited reply.
But what about the Easter bunny. This most prevalent of our society's Easter traditions presents more of a challenge to turn to a spiritual use.
I think the best approach is to treat the Easter Bunny like Santa--with a kind of benign neglect. Make it clear to your children at a young age that this silly rabbit is just part of the fun, something that some children (and adults!) enjoy at this season. Point out that he's no more real than his cousin Bugs. Give him only minor attention. Major instead on the Risen Lord. Your children will see your emphasis and get your message.
RECLAIMING EASTER TRADITIONS
As we transform cultural traditions, our children learn spiritual truths in the way they learn best--through familiar symbols explained within the context of family life. Spiritual truths are planted in a child's heart and, at the same time, guarded by warm childhood memories of fun family celebrations.
Our children CAN partifcipate with their friends in trhe fun of Easter. Our part is to help them distinguish between the fun and fantasy of the holiday and the reality of the resurrection.
By transforming and "redeeming" our culture in this way, I believe we follow the example of the Lord himself. After all, he came to transform and redeem the world.
Also as we use our culture's language to teach our children about the resurrection, we equip them to share these truths with their friends in a language both understand.
