For me, Easter has been a bit of a tricky holiday. As a Protestant family, I strive to keep Easter focused on celebrating Christ’s resurrection. This year, we won’t do Easter baskets full of goodies. I am by no means anti-gift-giving. I go crazy at Christmas, birthdays, and Valentine’s Day; so, I am deliberately choosing to minimize the loot surrounding this holiday because I want my children to associate Easter with something other than just getting stuff. However, I still very much want this to be a sweet and special time for my children, and I have been on the look out for new traditions to incorporate into our family life.
Since I grew up in Russia, I am adding a Russian Easter tradition into our holiday. On Palm Sunday in Russia, friends and neighbors give one another pussy willow branches instead of palm tree branches as palm trees don’t grow in Russia’s frigid climate. This year on Palm Sunday, we will put a vase full of pussy willow branches on our kitchen table.
I will also take the boys in the backyard to find a small tree branch to create an Easter egg tree. I know some super crafty mamas use hollowed-out, painted eggs to decorate an Easter egg tree, but that’s way too Pinterest-y for me. I found pre-decorated, styrofoam eggs at the Dollar Tree, and that’s what will adorn our little tree.
Leading up to Easter Sunday, I am reading a collection of books centered around Easter and celebrating new life. Some of my favorites are A Tale for Easter, The Golden Egg, and The Easter Story.
All around the world, people have traditionally eaten hot cross buns on Good Friday, and we are giving this a custom a try too. Hot cross buns are a yeast-based roll baked with spices and raisins and iced with a white cross on the top.
There is folklore surrounding these buns. It is said that with whomever you share these buns, you will befriend the whole year through. Since I’ll be sharing these buns primarily with my two preschoolers and two toddlers, I am pretty sure there’s no escaping friendship with them. I intend to mix up the dough the night before, giving it plenty of time to rise; and then baking and icing the buns with the help of my three and four year olds. I will be using the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.
And, of course, on Easter Sunday we will have an egg hunt in our backyard. Last year, we filled some of our eggs with confetti, and the kiddos would crack them on their heads. This was a huge hit! Definately something we will do again.
What are some of your family’s Easter traditions? Please share them!
Loved hearing about your efforts to instill good values in your kids. I think it’s important for them to know the true reason for the celebrations (I’m also with you on the gifts though!) 🙂