Easter Celebrations

I plan on coming back in here (eventually) and making these more detailed and informative but this is all just taken from notes I used in a class taught to 4th graders last year. This might help you explain to younger ones all the wonderful days of reflection and celebration the Easter season has in it. May God be glorified in this season by us all!

Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. It is the first day of Lent and is always on a Wednesday (duh). It was a biblical tradition to throw ash over your head to show repentance and at a lot of church services on this day the pastor will use their finger to put an ash cross on our heads while saying something like "repent and hear the good news".

Lent
Lent is the 40 days, leading to Easter, not counting Sundays (didn't I just say that above?). The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday. It symbolizes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. Lent is a time for people to reflect and prepare for Holy week (the week we celebrate the events leading up to Christs' death and resurrection).

Easter is the celebration of a wonderful gift from God. His love for us should be our ultimate source of joy and contentment. During Lent it is a common practice for us to fast from one of the things in our lives that we think brings us joy. Missing out on that food, activity or thing can be a constant reminder to us that indeed our Joy is in the Lord (or at least it should be!).

Palm Sunday
The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday. It is the first day of Holy week, a day when we celebrate Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the back of donkey. Crowd of people lined the streets waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna" to Jesus. Sadly later the same crowds shouted "crucify him".

Maundy Thursday
This is the day we celebrate the Lord's Supper where Jesus introduced the breaking of bread and drinking of wine in remembrance of what He was about to do for us. The word Maundy comes from the latin word mandatum meaning commandment. It was on this day that Jesus said "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you".

Holy Thursday, as this day is also known, is also a time to reflect on Jesus washing the disciples feet ( a humble act of service), Jesus suffering in Gethsemane, and also the betrayal of Judas.

Good Friday
This is the day we reflect on Jesus' crucifixion. Although that is a very sad thing to think about, because it is our sins that put Him on the cross, there is also such joy in knowing that he was willing to do that for you and I and most importantly there is hope for us all because he conquered death and is truly a king of kings!

St. Patrick's Day Symbols

Blarney Stone

- The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence. The legend says that an old woman revealed the power of the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. It's difficult to reach the stone, kissers have to lie on their back and bend backward or downward while holding iron bars for support.

The Shamrock

- An Irish clover. There is not actually one type of clover that is a shamrock.

- This symbol stems from a story that Patrick used a three leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it to show that although the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate people they can still be one.

Rainbow with a pot of gold

- All I know is that we need to quit seeing this as a symbol of anything other than the Creator of it! St. Patrick's Day or not there is great joy in knowing the same God who made this thing (or not a thing but an pattern of light on rain???) also made me, knows me by name and loves me! I believe the rainbow should remind us of God's love over us and the pot of gold is a reminder of the richness when you rest in it!

Pinching
- I don't have much to say about this except I sure loved hiding green somewhere in my outfit when I was in school so people would think they get to pinch me and then I got to point out I had a dot of green pen on my shoe and ruin all the fun! Ha Ha - what a great sense of humor I have always had huh?

Easter Books

Here are two Easter books I HIGHLY recommend... they are both written for younger kids and our family has already read them both several times this Lenten season. The first one is super cheap and the second is not expensive but it's around 10 dollars. The only suggestion I would give is when you read the title and everywhere in the book it has that phrase I change it to "Easter is for YOU and ME"... in fact the kids love that part because I say the "Easter is for YOU" and they, as well as dad, yell back "and ME".

The one above is written around all the activities we do around Easter time and how they all relate back to the meaning of the season and the one below is written in a format telling the story of Jesus. It says things like "when he called the disciples to follow Him, I think he was calling me (obviously I change that to "I think he was calling you" and the kids yell back "and me". It also has a page saying how he healed the lame and "He knew He would need to heal me" it is super good with great pictures as well.