Hi there,
Disclaimer: My intention with this post is to make you think. If after reading this post you thought about the topic and decided you stand exactly where you stood before reading the post, great! If you changed the way you thought about this topic after giving it some thought, great! Either way, I just want you to think about it, so you do things because you want to do it that way as opposed to because you just never gave it a thought.
Did you notice how many things we do out of tradition without giving it a thought? Most likely you haven’t. 🙂 It’s because there are certain things in our culture we do because that’s how we were raised, that’s what we were exposed to.
This is partly why you have culture shock when you visit another country. You are so used to doing things one way, it surprises you that other cultures do it in a completely different way or even opposite way. Something that is polite in one country may be totally rude in another.
I could mention tons of examples to prove my point, but this post is about Easter, so lets get to the point. 🙂
When you think of Easter what is the first image that comes to your mind? What is the first thing our kids think of when we mention Easter? Easter Egg Hunt? Easter Bunny? While they may know the reason we celebrate Easter, is that the first thing that comes to their mind? If not, why is that?
What do we celebrate on Easter?
We celebrate that after our Savior died on the cross for our sins, He raised from the dead and is alive today.
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Are we helping our children by making Easter be about Easter Egg Hunts and Easter Bunnies more than about Jesus’ resurrection? Could we make it a fun day without shifting the focus from Christ’s resurrection to eggs and bunnies?
I think our children get excited about things that excite us. I don’t think Easter Eggs or Easter Bunnies are needed for our children to have fun on Easter. I am not against the fun part, but maybe we can start our own traditions that focuses the fun on what Easter really is about, so we help our children understand what really matters.
If you want to use the Easter Egg Hunts to share the story of Easter with your children, great! You thought about it and you considered it to be a good teaching lesson. But if you are just doing it because that’s what you are used to and you never really thought about it, I encourage you to stop for a second and consider how you want your children to look at Easter. (Of course the same goes to other holidays, such as Christmas.)
I want to emphasize that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Easter Egg Hunts or taking a picture with the Easter Bunny, as long as they don’t shift our thinking and our kids’ thinking from the real meaning of Easter.
Christ, the Son of God, didn’t just die for our sins, He also rose from the dead and He offers eternal life to all those who believe in Him. What can be more amazing than this?