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Story of Easter with Family Easter Egg Hunt Fun (LDS ecumenical)
Meridian Mag ^ | April 2009 | By Dian Thomas

Posted on 04/10/2009 10:40:30 PM PDT by restornu

In just a few weeks we will all celebrate Easter. Easter Sunday is the Christian festival honoring Christ's resurrection and is considered by many people the world over to be the most important religious observance. It is a day of rejoicing for all Christian faiths. This is a fun time to look back and see how some of the Easter celebration came about.

The word Easter first came into use in A.D. 735. Eostre, or Eastre, was the Teutonic goddess, the deity of both the dawn and spring. The word was transferred to the holiday we now celebrate when the Saxons began to commemorate Christ's resurrection. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Constantine the Great ordered the court to wear their finest garments on Easter, which may have been the beginnings of the Easter parade. Even today, it is customary to have a new outfit and bonnet to wear to church on Easter Sunday.

New clothes, Easter bunnies, chicks, lilies, and other Easter trappings are all symbols of the real meaning of Easter, the resurrection and life everlasting. A sunrise service, frequently held out-of-doors, is the highlight of the year in many churches.

Eggs are associated with Easter and are symbols of the resurrection. Eggs hold the seeds of life and represent fertility. Coloring eggs goes back to ancient times when eggs were dyed for spring festivals. Eggs in medieval times were dyed red in memory of the blood that Christ shed. In many European countries, egg decorating is a fine art, especially in Russia and the Ukraine. Several days are spent decorating just one egg.

Folklore has it that an Easter egg with two yolks is a sign of coming financial prosperity, and refusing the gift of an Easter egg endangers your friendship with the giver. In China today, a brilliant red egg is sent as a sign of happiness to friends and relatives when a child is born.

The Easter rabbit tradition originated in Germany. Since rabbits are so prolific, they are said to be symbols of fertility. Tales were told that the Easter bunny laid the eggs for which the children searched in the grass.

Along with the new clothes and fun Easter crafts, it would be nice to share with your family the deep meaning of the holiday so they understand why it matters so much.

Special Easter Egg Hunt

One of my favorite traditions in our family is an Easter egg hunt. Easter eggs are symbolic of the rebirth of new life in spring and Christ's resurrection. Assign each child a color. Buy plastic eggs or color hard-cooked eggs in an equal number of each color. Fill plastic eggs with candy or small toys. Hide the eggs according to the age and ability of the child.

If you have several children coming to the egg hunt, a time-saving tip and a fun idea is to have the older children hide eggs for the younger children. Eggs for very young children can be hidden so that they can be seen, but eggs for older children can be hidden in more challenging locations. Give each child an empty basket with a ribbon of the appropriate color tied to the handle.

Make it an extra fun Easter Treasure Hunt by including messages. You can put a clue inside a plastic egg, write it on the outside of the egg with a fine-tipped marker, or hollow the egg shell and insert a rolled message. Place the egg containing the first message in the child's Easter basket.

For more fun ideas like this visit my website at www.dianthomas.com. I have a new site where you will find new and exciting ideas. For those who would like to go the China with me check out my China trips at www.dianthomas.com/travel.htm. For questions or notes or just to say hello send email to Dian@DianThomas.com.


TOPICS: Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: easter; ecu; lds

1 posted on 04/10/2009 10:40:31 PM PDT by restornu
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: Adam-ondi-Ahman; America always; Antonello; Arrowhead; asparagus; BlueMoose; ComeUpHigher; ...
Ecumenical
3 posted on 04/10/2009 10:42:52 PM PDT by restornu
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To: restornu
I'll be alone this Easter Morn. It's best that way, considering some of the commotion this weekend.

But I will appreciate the Sacrifice that gives me hope. As I think of friends, and family that have passed.

Best wishes from the badlands of NM, and let me know when folks aren't so p!$$ed.

/johnny

4 posted on 04/10/2009 10:52:15 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: JRandomFreeper

I hope you get a chance to attend a House of Worship this Easter Sunday to feel the fellowship in the Lord!


5 posted on 04/10/2009 11:02:17 PM PDT by restornu
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To: restornu

He is Risen


6 posted on 04/10/2009 11:06:22 PM PDT by BooBoo1000 (Some times I wake up grumpy, other times I let her sleep/)
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To: restornu
I'll just appreciate being in a beautiful spot in the world. And (mostly) out of trouble.

I'm not the best parishioner, but me and Jesus will have a sit-down talk before Sunday. I have some thanking to do.

/johnny

7 posted on 04/10/2009 11:11:16 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Just curious..what do you call the ‘badlands’ of NM?


8 posted on 04/11/2009 1:16:36 PM PDT by greyfoxx39 (Obama....never saw a Bush molehill he couldn't make a mountain out of.......)
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To: greyfoxx39
Any part of NM where you die from lack of water, or freeze to death, or mountain lions can eat you, or mestizos take your stuff.

Most of it, actually. It's not an idiot, city-boy safe state. But it's nice enough for me. And very pretty.

/johnny

9 posted on 04/11/2009 1:26:14 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: JRandomFreeper
Any part of NM where you die from lack of water, or freeze to death, or mountain lions can eat you, or mestizos take your stuff.

LOL..that's why I had a question as to the location.

10 posted on 04/11/2009 1:36:52 PM PDT by greyfoxx39 (Obama....never saw a Bush molehill he couldn't make a mountain out of.......)
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To: greyfoxx39
It's great ground for being left alone, survival training, or winnowing through potential son-in-laws. Not so good for folks that don't understand how life REALLY works.

/johnny

11 posted on 04/11/2009 1:52:45 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: restornu
Thank you for the ping

Happy Easter to you & yours (:
12 posted on 04/11/2009 3:55:48 PM PDT by novemberslady
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