No, I don’t mean eat chocolate for 50 days! Though you might choose to celebrate that way 🙂 Did you know that the season of Easter or Eastertide goes for 50 days? Easter Sunday is just the start of the Easter season. (Just as Christmas Eve is the start of the 12 day Christmas season.) The season continues until Pentecost Sunday which happens 50 days after Easter. So why & how can we continue the Easter Celebration for 50 days?
Why Celebrate Easter For 50 Days?
Easter is one of the major celebrations of the Christian church. We are celebrating something huge – the new life we have through Christ. So why wouldn’t we want to celebrate and remember that for the whole season and beyond?
How Can We Continue the Easter Celebration for 50 days?
A few others have suggested some ideas:
8 Ways to Live the Great 50 Days of Easter
Amy Sander Montanez shares 8 ideas on the Building Faith website. Ideas include continue to greet people with an Easter greeting or take an Easter basket to someone who needs some hope or cheer. Both of the ideas would certainly get people reminding you that Easter Sunday has come and gone. But then you could explain that it is Eastertide and that you’re observing 50 days of Easter. Most of the rest of the ideas are as simple and easy to do as these two.
How to Live the 50 Days of Easter
Elizabeth Ring shares her ideas on the Building Faith website. They include building on a spirtual practice that worked well for you in Lent or building with art.
Easter is Not Just One Day It’s 50!
St Chrystoms in Manchester, Uk has listed many ideas – some simple and some that require a little more work. They include eating a small piece of chocolate and savour the taste, having a special sparkling Easter time drink, sending Easter cards to distant family or friends, try to identify one place each day where you encounter Jesus and many more.
Living as Easter People in Eastertide
Jean Wise shares on her blog Healthy Spirituality about living as Easter People everyday, as a way of life. She shares a few ideas for growing and living in Eastertide. These include lighting a white candle during meals representing Christ our light, decorating a cross with flowers and more. Our son would have enjoyed lighting a candle during meals, he certainly enjoyed lighting the candles for advent, when he was younger.
25 Ways to Celebrate Life this Easter Season
Lacy Clark Ellman shares ideas on her blog A Sacred Journey. Her ideas are all about celebrating the little things that bring us life each day including sitting in the sun, add colour to your living places, eat dessert first and another 22 ideas.
Celebrate Easter’s 50 Days
Family Activities to Celebrate the Easter Season from The Word Among Us. I like how they don’t suggest you try all 50 but just pick a few ideas that seem right for you. Ideas include playing 1 fun family activity every week of Easter, keep fresh flowers around, doing a family act of kindness, wear white or gold (the season’s special colours) and another 46 ideas.
50 Ways to Celebrate the 50 Day of Easter With Your Children
Nicole Ernest shares her 50 ideas on Catholic Mum. These 50 ideas include links to some great resources and ideas. They include making a Paschal candle, go on an Easter Nature Study or Scavenger Hunt, play Easter Bingo and 47 more ideas.
Celebrate 50 Days of Easter
Check out these ideas from the Upper Room. One idea that I particularly liked and hadn’t seen on the other lists was to raise a butterfly.
What Are We Doing to Continue the Easter Celebration?
Well, I didn’t actually start my Easter baking until Easter Sunday. Mainly as I wasn’t well leading up to Easter, not because I planned it that way. We did have some bought spelt hot cross buns on Good Friday but I didn’t make any homemade gluten free hot cross buns or do any of the Holy Week baking as planned? Also our daughter wasn’t here for Easter but is visiting, to celebrate her brother’s 21st.
So I thought why not continue baking Easter treats after Easter as a way to continue the Celebration? That way we can not only enjoy some yummy treats but also remember that we have new life in Christ. I’m also looking forward to celebrating Easter in a small way while our daughter is home.
Since making Easter themed gluten free and dairy free shortbread on Easter Sunday, I’ve also made a Coconut Easter Cake and a Chocolate Easter Cake. I might even make some hot cross buns for when our daughter comes home. And I’ll continue baking some Easter treats for the rest of the season. Then, if anyone ask I can explain about the 50 days of Easter and that we’re celebrating for the full season.
Even though we’re a couple of weeks into the season, it’s not too late join in to continue the celebration. Remember it doesn’t have to be a big thing or something that you do everyday but just something that helps you remember what we celebrate at Easter and that we have new life in Christ. So, how can you continue the Easter Celebration?
Happy Easter! He is Risen!