Easter Crafts: Basket Weaving

According to folklore, on the eve before Easter Sunday, a giant bunny rabbit – known best as the Easter Bunny – goes around a house, a garden or even an entire village. In its wake, the Easter Bunny leaves gifts for the residents of wherever it has been; namely chocolate eggs, left in a wicker basket, to signify the arrival of spring.

This, of course, is a golden opportunity for anyone who enjoys crafting at home. While the Easter Bunny is nothing but a legend, the concept has caught on – and many parents like to set up ‘Easter hunts’ for their children. By purchasing a small amount of chocolate confectionery eggs, you can be your very own Easter Bunny, and allow your children the enjoyment of discovering their treats on Easter morning.

Where does this tie in with crafting? The baskets of course! Easter related crafts usually center around the baskets which contain the chocolate goodies, and for excellent reasons. For one thing, few but the most experienced of crafters have ever tried their hand at making reed baskets, so you can add a new string to your crafting bow – and then have an immediate use on Easter Sunday for what you produce. You can buy basket-weaving kits from the usual craft stores and online, allowing you to produce a truly personal surprise for those on the hunt for gifts from the Easter Bunny.

It’s not just the structure itself of the basket that matters, either. Go crazy with ribbons, tassles and all other manner of adornments for your basket. Experiment with different looks, from sleek and sophisticated to bright and fun, and soon you’ll find Easter crafts are as enjoyable as their Christmas counterparts.

Secular Easter Celebrations

Of all the main festivals in the Christian calendar, Easter is perhaps the least celebrated if one is not religious. However, even if you are not Christian, you and your family can enjoy Easter celebrations by using the opportunistic holidays that co-incide with Easter and putting your own twist on how to observe the holiday.

Easter is a time traditionally associated with the spring – the coming of new life, birth and hope. Many secular Easter celebrations focus on this aspect of the holiday. While it may not seem particularly celebratory, many people like to take the opportunity to ‘spring clean’ during their Easter break from work or studies – as this sets things to rights prior to the summer, when one will hopefully be having too much fun to worry about housework. If done with the right approach, you can make spring cleaning feel part of the Easter celebrations – a joint family fun activity, that does not necessarily need to just be based on cleaning. Why not try painting a room in the house, fresh for summer – and good fun for children unoccupied by school?

Other non-religious Easter celebrations include family get togethers. The holiday is almost like Christmas, but without the blatant consumerism that surrounds that holiday. Instead, use the opportunity to visit – and be visited by – your nearest and dearest, without the pressures that Christmas inevitably brings.

One of the most famous Easter celebrations is egg rolling. Allow your children to paint their own hard boiled eggs, then waste a few pleasant hours seeing who can get theirs to roll the furthest. Cheap, hassle-free, enjoyable and fun – Easter doesn’t need to be just for those who celebrate the Christian festival.

Easter Holiday Tips

Although Easter is most often seen as the most religiously significant festival in the Christian calendar, it has yet to branch out in to secular society in the way that Christmas has. While many of us associate Christmas with snow, Lapland and a mythical man in a red suit; Easter has not quite managed to achieve the same level of instant recognition.

However, Easter remains – in most Western countries – a public holiday, and the period is usually planned to coincide with spring break for children and students. Serving as a middle point between Christmas and the summer proper, and given the education holidays which can allow families to be together, Easter holidays have become a staple – even if the religious reasoning behind the holiday has not.

Travel firms have long cottoned on to this fact, and along with airlines and hotels have set about raising their prices so as to profit from the increased demand around the time of the Easter holidays. Fares that would usually be affordable quickly become extortionate if you wish to book around March or April, and anything travel or hotel accommodation that occurs over the three main days of Easter itself, will be an expensive nightmare.

Bear this in mind when booking your Easter holiday – and it is also worth noting the seasonal changes of Easter. Most far-flung destinations are experiencing their rainy season in March and April, and in the Southern Hemisphere Easter marks the start of autumn. For good weather, Spain, Italy and other southern European countries can make wonderful destinations for an Easter holiday.

Easter Sunday: The Basics

Easter Sunday is, according to the Gospels of Christianity, the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar.

Sometimes referred to as Easter Day or even Resurrection Day, Easter Sunday is the third day of Easter celebrations, feasts and worships; following Good Friday and then Holy Saturday. It always occurs on a Sunday, and is – in most Western countries – a public holiday.

The gospels teach that it was on Easter Sunday that, upon visiting Jesus’ tomb, people found the tomb empty. The exact description of the discovery of Jesus at this point – and in fact the people who discovered him – varies in each gospel, though the most recognized version has his follower Mary Magdalene mistaking him for a gardener before realizing it was the risen Jesus. Jesus then visited all of his Disciples and set out plans for how his faith should continue following his final Ascension to heaven, which happened around 40 days following the Resurrection.

It is this victory for Jesus over death that makes Easter Sunday such an important day in the Christian calendar, as it affirms Jesus’ place as the Son of God and able to offer eternal life. Special services and Eucharist – known in some denominations as Holy Communion – tend to be held on Easter Sunday, most famously by the Catholic Pope in St. Peter’s Square within Vatican City, which is attended by tens of thousands of devout Catholics on their most Holy of days.

Egg Rolling Tradition At The White House

In 1878, American President Rutherford B. Hayes began a tradition that has spiralled down the centures: White House lawn egg rolling.

On Easter Monday – a public holiday in the United States – children are invited to the official home of the American President, the White House in Washington DC. There, on the main lawn at the front of the historic building, they can indulge in “egg rolling”. Usually hand painted and hard boiled eggs, the egg rolling consists of a lively game in front of one of America’s national symbols – and the President, and his family, are usually in attendance.

Ever since the first egg rolling on the White House law with President Hayes, the tradition has continued to be observed by every subsequent President of the United States. Tickets are free of charge, but due to the popularity of the event, are issued via a public ballot. The 2010 tickets have already been allocated; to be in consideration for 2011, register on the White House website by August 2010. Your name will then be entered in to a lottery for consideration for the following years’ celebrations.

Attendance of the event is restricted to parents with children, as it is primarily seen as a ‘treat’ for young children rather than a political event. Any parent accompanying their child to the White House Lawn egg rolling is required to go through a security screen, and is not permitted to take bags or other items in to the grounds of the White House. This is due to the close proximity of the President, though be aware that items such as strollers and baby changing bags are permitted – though they will be searched.

The Best Easter Gift Ideas

Easter has, by and large, dodged the relentless march of consumerism in the way its December counterpart – Christmas – has not been able to manage. Gift-giving is generally associated with Christmas, but in some cultures and – particularly – in some families, gifts are also exchanged at Easter. These tend to be smaller, more thoughtful gifts; and there is certainly no mention of lists requesting what someone wants, or a mythical man who delivers to the entire world on one night!

Easter gifts can be a pleasant way to express affection for another person at a time outside of Christmas. Flowers are a hugely popular gift, as Easter coincides with spring and many a flower experiences a bloom at this time. Bouquets especially ordered are popular, though another option is to give a potted plant which can be transferred to the receivers’ garden and be left to grow and mature as a permanent memory of the gift.

In terms of giving Easter gifts to children, think chocolate. Easter eggs are one of the most recognizable symbols of the period, and are produced by any confectioner or chocolate manufacturer worth bothering with. To really make your Easter gift delightful, check with the person you are gifting to as to what their favorite bar of chocolate is normally – and buy an Easter egg made of the same brand. As well as a hollowed out egg, these items usually contain one or two bars of the specific bar of chocolate.

Finally, a word of caution. With the association with spring, some parents are tempted to gift their children with chicks – another known symbol of Easter. Unless you live on a farm and can genuinely raise the chick as it grows in to a chicken, avoid this and stick to more conventional Easter gifts instead.

The Delights of Easter Food

Like Christmas, the Christian festival of Easter is associated with particular food stuffs.

Perhaps the most famous Easter food is the hot cross bun, a richly spiced tea cake (sometimes known as a scone). The tea cake is usually decorated with a ‘cross’, as a nod to the Christian foundations of Jesus being resurrected after his crucifixion, that form the basis of the Easter celebrations. Hot cross buns are traditionally served on Good Friday – the day Jesus is said to have been crucified – as a reminder that the crucifixion was not the end, but merely the beginning.

On Easter Sunday, the traditional breakfast is one of boiled eggs. Eggs are a long-associated symbol of new life and hope, and as Easter Sunday marks the Resurrection of Jesus, an apposite compliance with the gospels.

In terms of a main course on Easter Sunday, lamb is a favourite. Jesus was seen as the sacrificial lamb, dying to save the world from its sins, and is thus recognised with the choice of meat in a modern Easter meal. Lamb is also associated with spring, and as Easter occurs in late March or in April, this coincides with the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

Finally, the dessert of traditionalists on Easter Sunday is known as Simnel Cake. This is a particular type of cake; fruit-based, covered in marzipan and decorated in a particular way. Marzipan is rolled in to 11 balls and placed on top of the cake, to signify the Disciples of Jesus – all excluding Judas Iscariot, as he betrayed Christ.

The Traditions of Easter

With any holiday, be it religious or secular, there are accompanying traditions. These traditions can range from the type of food to people eat, to particular activities that are enjoyed over the course of the celebration. These holidays and their related activities form the cornerstone of the modern world calendar, even among those who does not practice the religion themselves.

One of the biggest of these such holidays is Easter, the time when Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Although devoid of the somewhat distasteful consumerism that surrounds the other famous Christian holiday – Christmas – Easter does have its own traditions, habits, activities and surrounding indulgences to mark its place in the modern social world.

Due to its position on the calendar – occurring in March or April – Easter is associated with spring time, the birth of a new fertile year. Tied in with its religious foundations of new belief and triumph over what is seemingly impossible, it is a hopeful time of year. Easter traditions tend to follow this same pattern of thinking, and centre around things and customs that are new or celebrate birth and fertility.

Eggs, an old Pagan symbol of fertility and new life and beginnings, are synonymous with Easter – be they of chocolate and wrapped in brightly coloured foil, or hard boiled then hand painted. Many families like to enjoy spring lamb as their Easter meal, as well as indulging in vegetables and other foods that mature at the same time of the year as the holiday falls.

Easter: The Resurrection of Jesus

One of the fundamental facets of the Easter celebrations each spring time is the acknowledgement and celebration of Jesus’ rise from the dead. Best known as the resurrection, this occurence is one of the most recognisable parts of Christianity, as it is said to be a true reflection of Jesus’ unique status as the Son of God, and as a prophet. During the Last Supper, Jesus is said to have foretold his own death – and his resurrection.

Children often wonder why Easter is so fervently celebrated by the church and its followers, considering it is essentially a festival to mark Jesus’ death by crucifixion. In reality, much of the church services around Easter focus on the ressurection rather than Jesus’ death. Services tend to include passages and readings about eternal life, and how Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of the world, and rose again to prove he was not a mere mortal man.

The Bible says that Jesus died on what is now known as Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, he rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples to show his triumph over death. He remained on earth for a further 40 days, and then Ascended to heaven.

In Christian teachings, the story of the Resurrection is arguably the most important gospel story of them all. It shows Jesus as the Song of God, who could control life and death and not bound by the laws of man. To that end, it is celebrated most fervently in almost all denominations of Christianity.

Symbolism of Easter

Like any religious – and particularly Christian – festival, Easter carries with it an overwhelming amount of symbolism. Here’s a run through of the most familiar sights on decorations and the like during the Easter period, what they represent and why they are so significant:

1. Eggs

Easter eggs are a tradition in both religious and secular households, though interestingly they are routed in Paganism. To the Pagans, the egg represented fertility and new life, and as Easter coincides with the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Christianity adapted this Pagan symbolism as their own for Easter.

2. Bunnies, Rabbits and Hares

As well as the well-known Easter Bunny, who supposedly leaves eggs and other treats for children to find, much of Easter is awash with rabbit and hare symbolism. These animals represent spring and new life, and again find their primary routes in Paganism.

3. Lambs

Lambs also represent new life and the start of spring – such as the phrase “spring lamb” – but at Easter they have a second meaning. In religious symbolism, the lamb represents Jesus – and is depicted this way in artwork. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb, who died at Easter for the sins of the world.

4. Palms

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem prior to his arrest and crucifixion, he was welcomed by townspeople throwing palms on the ground. In modern times, palms appear regularly at Easter time in memory of these events.

5. Hot Cross Buns

The cross is a much known Christian symbol, and at Easter is often spread on to a ‘bun’ cake. The cross represents Jesus’ triumph over death, as in the resurrection.

The Link Between Passover and Easter

Christianity and Judaism are two of the biggest faiths in the world, with around 1.5 billion followers between them. They are also, along with Islam, among the oldest religions to currently still be celebrated.

Along with these social similarities, two of the biggest festivals in each religion occur at roughly the same time in the year. For Christianity, March-April time is when Easter is celebrated; a recognition of Jesus as the Son of God, his death for the sins of the world and his subsequent resurrection from the dead for three days. In Judaism, the same period is when Passover is celebrated; when the plagues of Ancient Egypt passed over Jewish homes that had marked themselves as Jews by using lambs’ blood on their doorways. Both are highly significant in their importance within their own faith.

The two also converge historically. Many of us as children learn of a “Last Supper” with Jesus, where he gathered his faithful followers – and the one unfaithful Judas Iscariot – and told them his time on earth was drawing to a close. This was an important meeting, as Jesus also continued on to give instructions for how his faith should be continued following his death. The scene is famously depicted in a fresco named, aptly, “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci.

What is not so often mentioned is that historians believe this “Last Supper” was actually a traditional Passover meal. Jesus was Jewish himself; though he would go on to become the cornerstone of a ‘rival’ religion. It is also said that Jesus was the sacrifical lamb for the benefit of humanity; and lambs were used by the Jews in Ancient Egypt to protect them from the Plagues. So not only do the dates of Passover and Easter converge, but the history and symbolism behind them does, too.

Easter: The End of Lent

According to the Bible, during his life Jesus took to the desert for a period of reflection prior to beginning his public ministry. According to the tale, he took no food or water, and endured 40 days and nights alone, subjected to the temptation of Satan for the entire duration. When the time had passed, Jesus emerged from the desert and set about establishing his church, disciples and what would eventually become Christianity.

In the modern age, Christians observe a similar period of self reflection and self denial – known as “Lent”. For most denominations of Christianity, Lent begins the day after Shrove Tuesday – known as Ash Wednesday – and lasts until Easter. Both Ash Wednesday and Easter are determined not by dates but by the solar and lunar cycles, so the period of time tends to remain the same even when the monthly dates do not. Excluding Sundays, the Lenten period usually does last for 40 days.

Modern Christian, rather than fasting completely, tend to ‘give up’ something for Lent. This is usually an indulgence, such as chocolate or other baked treats, or a bad habit – such as smoking. Throughout the Lenten period they do not consume anything that they have ‘given up’, and use the time to reflect on their life and affirm their relationship with God.

Easter marks the end of Lent, and many social commentators believe that the modern tradition of giving chocolate Easter eggs began to meet the demands of those who had given up chocolate for Lent – or at the very least, tempt them!

Next Page »