Holy Week and Easter Holy Week: Very li le school work, Mass several mes. meal (some families bring all the except reading, Mass on Thursday, Easter: Turning off all electricity food!). Most families use beau ful Friday and then our girls sing in our from noon to 3 on Good Friday. baskets that they have decorated. church choir on Easter morning. Dawn in Brunswick, OH (My husband’s family is Polish, and Easter: We like to make so pret- the have many tradi ons with the zels every Friday during Lent. As Holy Week: We try to a end the baskets and special white clothes for tradi ons, we have a home Chrism mass held by the bishop to cover the food. The clothes are altar that is decorated with purple and archdiocesan priests at the Ca- embroidered with symbols of Eas- cloth, and each day of Holy Week thedral-usually on Tuesday of Holy ter and Christ). The priest says a we change the “props.” Bowl, Week here in Atlanta; we a end blessing and blesses the food with towel, construc on paper chalice Mass on Holy Thursday, services holy water. It is a favorite tradi on and Host for Holy Thursday, crown on Good Friday and Holy Saturday that really sets the tone for the of thorns and nails for Good Friday, morning, and the Easter Vigil. end of Lent and the beginning of these are kept on un l Saturday Easter: we like to make homemade Easter! evening. Then a er the children bread for Easter, we enjoy color- Sarah in Streetsboro, OH go to bed, I replace it with a gold ing the hardboiled eggs and shar- or yellow cloth and a statue of our ing baskets of goodies with family Holy Week: We a end as many Lord coming out of the tomb and a members. services that our church off ers as crystal cross. All the previous deco- Lisa in Atlanta, GA well as doing our felt storyboard of ra ons are put away. the Passion. Our Catholic Families Angela in Jackson, WI Holy Week: We boil school down group off ers children’s sta ons of to just religion and math (my kids the cross which we always par ci- Holy Week: Cleaning in prepara on read for fun, so I don’t worry about pate in...I try and say a rosary with for Easter, doing less school and reading), We go to Mass on Thurs- the kids at 3 pm on Good Friday more spiritual reading, going to day and Friday, for the Holy Thurs- This year i want to try and do hot day and Good Friday services. cross buns. Saturday night I deco- Saturday, we clean the house rate for Easter and then we a end un l it is spotless. Also, on Morning Mass and the kids receive Saturday, we go the Blessing their baskets a er mass. of the Food....this is a family Easter: I always make a bu er favorite...we are all in an cipa- mold shaped like a lamb as is tradi- on of the feast on Sunday and onal in my husband’s family. the excitement of the Resur- Evie in Orange Park, FL rec on of Our Lord! We watch videos about the Passion of Holy Week: We a end Holy Thurs- Christ, and read books to the day & Good Friday services. We li le ones explaining Easter. join our parish in an outdoor Easter: If you don’t have a Sta ons of the Cross. We a end Blessing of the Food at your Easter Vigil. parish, ask your parish priest Easter: We have an Easter egg hunt to start one. It is a beau ful for all the children in our extended ceremony. You take a sam- family BUT FIRST, all the children sit pling of each thing you are around the table, each with a part going to serve for the Easter of the “Resurrec on Eggs” set & Alleluia! Alleluia! together we retell the story of our basket. Many of the foods are cho- the Mass. My Father-In-Law fi nds it Lord’s Passion, death, & Resurrec- sen for their symbolic meaning, and a challenge to not wink at them dur- on. Some of the children in our the bu er lamb is also an impor- ing Mass :) . family would otherwise associate tant item! Preparing the pysanky, Easter: We go to a tradi onal Easter Easter with the Easter bunny only. foods, and basket to bring them into Egg Hunt at my In-Laws Church Tricia in Merrimack, NH church is the highlight of our Holy where the children fi nd eggs that Week! are sca ered throughout the lawn. Holy Week: We celebrate Holy Heather in Cummington, MA What I like about their egg hunt is Week by par cipa ng as best as that some of the eggs have crosses we can in the Church’s Liturgy. My Holy Week: We start with a celebra- painted on them and those eggs husband takes Good Friday off from tory atmosphere on Palm Sunday, are empty to remind the kids that work and we a end Church that have a Seder on Holy Thursday, Christ’s tomb was empty on Easter day, and try to pray the Chaplet of do Sta ons of the Cross on Good Sunday and that he is risen! Grant- Divine Mercy at the Mercy Hour. Friday, clean, bake, and otherwise ed, my older children appreciate We try for more discussion of the prepare on Holy Saturday, and then these eggs more so than the young- Gospel readings and do our best to have a joyous Easter Sunday. er kids do. enter into them as fully as possible. Easter: I try to bake a lamb cake for Veronica in King George, VA Easter Sunday dessert. Easter: - Dyeing Easter Eggs with Anne in Durham, NC Holy Week: Mass, Sta ons, Soup the Grandparents (usually pu ng (fast) , prayers Chris an symbols on them, such as Holy Week: By going to the Holy Easter: Each year a new small Saint chi ro, crosses, the Tomb, angels) Week services at our church. I statue arrives in each child’s basket - Easter Egg hunt put on by the City would really like to give up TV & with a book about them and picture - Easter Dresses (my mom did this to computer for all of Holy Week holy card. This saint is then “adopt- me growing up - fi nding those fl owy, some me... ed” as their Holy friend for the year. fl owery gowns with big old hats) Easter: nothing unique really...color- Kris in Lansing, KS - Special Easter Dinner ing eggs, Easter egg hunt, Easter Kim in Helena, MT baskets. I usually put religious gi s in the baskets. We don’t do a lot Holy Week: We go to every pos- of candy because they get so much sible event at church! It gets really from their grandparents. I o en busy, but I feel that Easter Sunday do a saint book or one of the “Girl” is so much more meaningful a er books that CHC off ers or something fully par cipa ng in all the events of like that. Holy Week. Mine e in Wynot, NE Easter: On Holy Saturday, we have a blessing of Easter Foods at our Holy Week: We spend Holy Week Polish parish. A representa ve with our in-laws every year. My selec on of foods that we will Father-In-Law is a Deacon of the serve for our Easter meal is placed Catholic Church and his du es keep in a basket, and they are blessed him so busy that we spend our me at church by our priest. We also with him and my Mother-In-Law at decorate pysanky (Ukrainian Easter their Church. It is fun for the kids Eggs, also done in Poland) for the to see their “Papa” par cipa ng in Alleluia! Alleluia! Holy Week and Easter Holy Week: We travel daily over an Holy Week: We go to church at celebra ons online at www.san- hour to a parish that is very ethnic least Thursday and Friday, and usu- cutssimplicitus.com (high Italian popula on) because ally go to the Easter Vigil Mass. We CeAnne in Aumsville, Oregon I want to ins ll in my boys a won- try to watch Jesus of Nazareth, an der and awe for the richness of hour or two at a me. We usually Holy Week: We do various arts and how Holy Week celebra ons can don’t color eggs un l Holy Sat. cra s that are related to Holy Week be - with processions and incense, Easter: Nothing very original; the beginning with Palm Sunday. On drapes and candles, chants and kids’ baskets are hidden the night Holy Thursday we a end Mass, and ceremonies, food and festas, that before, we do an outdoor egg hunt on Good Friday we go to confession aren’t necessarily as enthusias - Easter a ernoon, we don’t have a and then to the service our parish cally celebrated in many of the tradi onal dinner but we do usually has at 3PM. westernized churches. have a big (egg) breakfast, and play Easter: We do an Easter egg hunt Easter: Our Easter morning break- “kingers” with the colored eggs. on Easter morning. Some of the fast is planned to be quick/easy and Sharon in Shelby Township, MI eggs contain items that will foster simple so that I can be included in our children’s faith, such as rosaries the celebra ons, too.