As a follower of Christ, I've also heard debates for and against Santa Claus, but when I stop and think about it, I recall very few making a case against the Easter bunny.
The holiest of holy days for Christians would have to be Easter. Celebrating the very reason we have hope, faith, and a passionate love for our savior, this weekend we will remember and reflect on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I'm curious. Is the Easter bunny a welcomed guest in your home?
It's true. An adorable pink-nosed cotton-tail who promises jelly beans and chocolate marshmallow eggs can easily bully its way into your family Easter celebration.
When the Easter bunny shows up at our house we let him in. Since Paul and I were not Christians when our children were very small, it was a tradition we continued when we were saved.
But, how do we make it more God-honoring? We wondered.
- Change the Focus. We learned to tweak the baskets and change the focus. Though we still include chocolate and jelly beans in our chidlren's baskets, we make sure to have an Easter DVD like Veggie Tales, or a Christian book ucked away under synthetic grass.
- Faith-Filled Baskets. This year our son David will be receiving Francine Rivers book, Sons of Encouragement. A compilation of great biblical men Jonothan, Silas, Amos, Aaron, and Caleb. Where the Bible is silent, Rivers adds her fictional insight. I think he'll like it.
- Family Crafts & Movie Time. We have made resurrection eggs and watch Easter movies together. We will be watching the Passion of the Christ with our older two tomorrow night.
What family traditions do you have in your home to put the focus on Jesus?
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I like your way of honoring God at Easter. (I've read those Francine River books and they are excellent)
ReplyDeleteWe never had the Easter bunny at our house (we never did Santa Claus either.) It's not something either of us grew up with so it wasn't an issue. We did color eggs, and hid plastic eggs for the kids to find. Like you we watched Christian videos related to Easter and we also read stories about it.
Years ago and I mean years ago we used to do the Easter Bunny thing with baskets and egg hunting but it took so much focus off the real reason we were celebrating that we quit.(Personal Conviction) Our kids only looked forward to the goodies they would get and not the sacrifice that was made on the cross. I mean as a kid what can compare to chocolate bunnies and the fun of hunting for eggs?
ReplyDeleteThat's just us and we don't judge anyone that chooses to indulge in the Easter Bunny and such. You have to do what works for your family.
Those are my thoughts.
Have a blessed Easter!
Kim
The Easter Bunny is welcome at our house. However, our girls know the true meaning of Easter has nothing to do with bunnies! We go to church on Good Friday, we talk about the resurrection, we discuss eggs being a symbol of what Jesus died to give us: new life, we attend church on Sunday morning, we say He Is Risen! to everyone we meet on Easter Sunday as well as make Resurrection Rolls. The Easter Bunny is a small part of our Easter celebration, but he is there nonetheless. Until we see true harm in it, we'll continue with the EB tradition.
ReplyDeletehttp://my.homewithgod.com/mkcathy/holiday/resurrectionrolls.html