Easter Greetings!
Happy Easter! I was reading back in my journal to the last time we could celebrate Easter 'properly', in 2019 where I had written about sitting quietly, having got up early and I thought of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the Mother of James, and the other women as they made their way, early in the morning, to go and prepare Jesus' body now the Sabbath was over. What a gamut of emotions they must have run through in the next half hour; sorrow, shock, horror at someone stealing their Lord's body... then amazement, disbelief, joy!
And then the frustration which all women will recognise when, as Luke tells us, they went to tell the men and the men didn't believe them and accused them of making it all up!
And it occurred to me that really all the proof anyone needs that it is not 'all a story made up years later'. For who amongst those who might have made it all up would have had it that the discovery of not only the empty tomb, but the first meeting with Jesus, would be made by women? And how very realistic that the men didn't believe them - and, again, not the sort of thing any of the early Church Fathers would have chosen to write, but as it was written they couldn't change it.
We celebrated Easter Day at church with the traditional hymns - including one of my all time favourites -
Then as the adults had readings, reflections, and communion, the children and I celebrated in a different way. (This is why I like to go to solemn communion on Maundy Thursday.)
We retold the Easter story whilst we did things! We made rock cakes when we considered finding the rock rolled aside and then, whilst they were in the oven, we made our simple Easter garden;
The rock cakes were very good - but were eaten un-photographed! The small flowerpot you can see on its side was the empty tomb - it was meant to be covered in the moss :)
And, having hung 7 eggs each Sunday of Lent onto the tree, today we celebrated by hanging all the rest of the eggs onto it!
You can see the Easter Garden beside it, along with the flowers from the service that were on their way to one of the congregation who wasn't well enough to be at church today.
Finally the children were given Fair trade Easter Eggs, and small Easter story/puzzle books, and then went out into the church garden to have egg and spoon races just because they like them, and now think of them as part of Easter!
NYK2 came home from church with me - she had been out for a tram* ride and a picnic then rock-pooling yesterday with her Dad and D-d yesterday. Today they had a longer walk and did history stuff with her brother, who had spent yesterday with his Granddad. (There are times when the children benefit from the undivided attention doing things they like.)
*The tram is the local name for the Manx Electric Railway.
Here she is rock-pooling;
So we pottered in the garden and we baked! We baked what she thought might be the NYM's idea of the ultimate cake - and Easter Biscoff cake. We read a few recipes, and adapted them to make our own version. Here is the one that went back to their house -
And here is the small one for S2C and I -
We haven't cut into it yet - we had a filling dinner :)
And then the frustration which all women will recognise when, as Luke tells us, they went to tell the men and the men didn't believe them and accused them of making it all up!
And it occurred to me that really all the proof anyone needs that it is not 'all a story made up years later'. For who amongst those who might have made it all up would have had it that the discovery of not only the empty tomb, but the first meeting with Jesus, would be made by women? And how very realistic that the men didn't believe them - and, again, not the sort of thing any of the early Church Fathers would have chosen to write, but as it was written they couldn't change it.
We celebrated Easter Day at church with the traditional hymns - including one of my all time favourites -
Click to viewThen as the adults had readings, reflections, and communion, the children and I celebrated in a different way. (This is why I like to go to solemn communion on Maundy Thursday.)
We retold the Easter story whilst we did things! We made rock cakes when we considered finding the rock rolled aside and then, whilst they were in the oven, we made our simple Easter garden;
The rock cakes were very good - but were eaten un-photographed! The small flowerpot you can see on its side was the empty tomb - it was meant to be covered in the moss :)
And, having hung 7 eggs each Sunday of Lent onto the tree, today we celebrated by hanging all the rest of the eggs onto it!
You can see the Easter Garden beside it, along with the flowers from the service that were on their way to one of the congregation who wasn't well enough to be at church today.
Finally the children were given Fair trade Easter Eggs, and small Easter story/puzzle books, and then went out into the church garden to have egg and spoon races just because they like them, and now think of them as part of Easter!
NYK2 came home from church with me - she had been out for a tram* ride and a picnic then rock-pooling yesterday with her Dad and D-d yesterday. Today they had a longer walk and did history stuff with her brother, who had spent yesterday with his Granddad. (There are times when the children benefit from the undivided attention doing things they like.)
*The tram is the local name for the Manx Electric Railway.
Here she is rock-pooling;
So we pottered in the garden and we baked! We baked what she thought might be the NYM's idea of the ultimate cake - and Easter Biscoff cake. We read a few recipes, and adapted them to make our own version. Here is the one that went back to their house -
And here is the small one for S2C and I -
We haven't cut into it yet - we had a filling dinner :)