As my kids get older I often find myself trying to reconcile the secular trappings of faith-based holidays with the real reason for the celebration. What better way to bring the secular and the sacred together for Easter than by using eggs to tell the resurrection story?
The idea is brilliant and the eggs can be used in so many ways! Our first resurrection eggs came from a family activity Heartland did a couple years ago. Sadly, I seem to have misplaced them between last Easter and now, so I am making a new set. Once again, you can Google resurrection eggs or better yet, search Pinterest to find countless pictures, blog posts, etc. explaining what resurrection eggs are, how to make your own, and how to use them in your home to teach the resurrection story.
This year we are adding a story component to the explanation using the book "Benjamin's Box" by Melody Carlson. It tells the story of a boy named Benjamin who lived during Jesus' time and collected objects that represented different moments in the resurrection story as it played out. We plan to read the story the 12 days leading up to Easter, introducing a new object, and thus a new part of the story, each day until we read the complete story and unveil every object on Easter morning.
Depending on which source you use for your list of objects, your eggs may contain slightly different things, but the list is mostly the same:
Egg #1. donkey (figurine, picture, or some sort of furry fabric to represent a donkey) - to remind us of the donkey Jesus rode to Jerusalem
Egg #2. coins (picture, real, or pretend) - to remind us of what little it took for Judas to betray Jesus
Egg #3. cup (tiny cup, piece of broken pottery, picture) - to remind us of the last supper
Egg #4. praying hands, flower or a twig - to remind us of Jesus praying in the garden
Egg #5. leather strip - to remind us of the torture Jesus endured at the end of a whip
Egg #6. thorn or crown of thorns - to remind us of the crown of thorns which was placed mockingly upon Jesus' head
Egg #7. nails or a cross - to remind us that Jesus, and thus our sin, was nailed to the cross
Egg #8. dice - to remind us of the humiliation Jesus endured as soldiers gambled for his robe
Egg #9. spear - to remind us of the soldier piercing Jesus' side with a spear after he died
Egg #10. a piece of white cloth - to remind us of the linen shroud Joseph wrapped Jesus' body in before placing him in the tomb
Egg #11. a rock - to remind us of the large boulder which was placed in front of the entrance to the tomb
Egg #12. empty - to remind us that he has risen!
You can also purchase sets of resurrection eggs already filled with these objects (amazon, christianbook.com, etc.). If your kids are too young to use all 12 eggs, I found an example on Pinterest using only 6 eggs for the younger crowd!
- Katrina K.
