By Bernice Gan
When we step into the supermarkets during the Easter season, we see all kinds of candy and chocolate in the shape of eggs and bunnies. Various establishments also offer Easter buffet spreads and Easter egg treasure hunts for children.
A question that comes to mind is: How are these treats and activities related to Easter? When you ask your children what Easter is about, what would their answer be?
Just like the Christmas season, we can have a meaningful celebration with our children by helping them unpack and understand the reason behind the most important holiday in the Christian calendar.
Easter is a time to celebrate a Risen Savior who loved us all so much that He came to die for our sins.
We can share the message of Good Friday and Easter using simple tools made up of just 5 colours: gold, black, red, white and green. With these colours, I will also share how you can make some simple crafts at home and have family time and fun at the same time!
Here is how you can use the 5 colours of Easter to explain the true meaning of Easter to your children:
1. Gold
The colour gold reminds us of God & Heaven. God is holy, good and perfect. His home in Heaven has streets made of gold! (Revelation 21: 21)
God is also all powerful and God created all things (Genesis 1 & 2). Ask your child what God has created and what things in creation that they like or love.
Tell your child that God also created people and God loves His creation very much. God loves ___________ (fill this with your child’s name). When he created everything, he said it was all very good.
2. Black
The colour black reminds us of sin. Adam and Eve sinned when they disobeyed God and ate the fruit God told them not to eat in the garden he had placed them in (Genesis 2 & 3). We have all sinned (Romans 3: 23), including mummy, daddy and __________ (fill this with your child’s name) and sin keeps us away from God as God is holy.
Help your child to understand “sin” by asking them if they have ever disobeyed mummy or daddy and done things their own way. Sin is doing things our own way instead of following God’s way. Give some examples of things we may think, say or do that disobey God and let your child give examples.
3. Red
The colour red reminds of the blood of Jesus, that is, Jesus dying for our sins.
On Good Friday, we remember how Jesus gave up His life for us when He died on the cross. (Romans 6: 23). On Easter Sunday, we remember that Jesus rose from the dead and He is alive today with God in Heaven.
Jesus loves us so much that he willingly died for us despite having done no wrong. On the other hand, because of our human nature, we fall short and at times do wrong. Ask your child if they remember such incidents and being punished for it.
However, the good news is that Jesus took the punishment for all our sins and died in our place so that we don’t have to be separated from God and can be with God someday in Heaven forever.
4. White
The colour white reminds us that God forgives our sins and makes us clean.
Jesus died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of all the wrong things we have done. ( 1 Peter 2: 25; Isaiah 53: 4-6). When we ask God to forgive us, he takes away all our sins and makes our heart clean (1 John 1: 9).
When Jesus makes our hearts clean, we are no longer separated from God. Instead, we have a relationship with God and become His children. (Galatians 4: 6).
Ask your child to thank Jesus for loving them so much and dying for them. Help them to ask God for forgiveness and invite Jesus into their lives. Give thanks with your children for they are God’s children!
5. Green
The colour green reminds us of growth.
When we ask God to forgive us and come into our lives, we become children of God. As we seek Him in our daily lives, God will help us to grow to know Him better. We can get to know God better by praying (talking to God), reading the Bible (listening to God) and obeying God by doing what he says in the Bible.
6. Gold (again!)
We begin with God and we also end with God as He is our hope!
We look to the hope that Jesus rose from the dead and He gives us the power to live as God’s children on earth (John 1: 12). As we invite God into our lives and become His children, we will be with God in Heaven forever. One day, He will come again.
Creative activities to share the Easter message
One way to share the Easter message with children is to involve them in simple craft activities which you can use to explain the 5 colours of Easter.
1. A wordless book made of coloured paper
I made this simple wordless book using six sheets of coloured paper (gold, black, red, white, green and gold) folded in half. You can either secure it with tape or staple it together in the centre. This allows the book to be reversible. You can start from the front and explain what the colours gold, black, red, white, green and gold mean in this sequence, and then turn the book around and start from the back in the same order.
There are many variations of the wordless book you can create. You can also cut coloured paper in squares or rectangles, punch a hole in the corner and attach the sheets together with a ring or string.
2. A wordless bookworm
If your child likes insects or animals, create a bookworm by cutting coloured paper in circles and glue them together. Give the bookworm a name and hang it in a visible area so that they can be visually reminded of the Easter message.
My son cut and coloured the gold circle, glued the googly eyes and drew the mouth and antennae to make up the face of the bookworm.
3. A wordless caterpillar from cardboard egg carton
For a more creative activity, go out of the box (literally!) to create a wordless caterpillar using an egg carton made of cardboard. Turn the egg carton upside down and paint each segment with the 5 colours of Easter.
4. Bonus: Fruit skewers
Lastly, you can create a healthy, yummy fruit skewer snack for your children using the following fruits representing the 5 Easter colours.
| Gold | Mango, pineapple, peach, yellow kiwi, yellow watermelon |
| Black | Blackberries, black cherries, sapphire grapes |
| Red | Strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, plums |
| White | Soursop, peeled apples/pears/ bananas, marshmallows |
| Green | Green grapes, green kiwi, honeydew |
My son had so much fun creating the fruit skewer and kept asking if he could eat it! This is a tool that can disappear into your stomach as fast as it is created!
With these simple, interactive crafts that you can create with your child, it is easier to share the meaning behind Good Friday and Easter – that Jesus Christ came and died for our sins and through His death and resurrection, we can live a victorious life as God’s children now and always.
May you have a blessed celebration with your children uncovering the real meaning of Easter this year!
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