Easter Traditions

I absolutely LOVE Easter! It ties with Christmas as my two favorite holidays. What could be more worthy of celebrating than the birth and resurrection of Christ?!?!

Every year, it seems that Easter means more and more to me. I love studying the death and resurrection in the weeks leading up to Easter, but it always makes me so emotional. It is hard to think of the physical pain that Jesus went through in the hours leading up to his death and the horrific torturous death that He endured. I'm so grateful that my Savior was willing to pay that price for me. Aren't you? I'm also eternally (literally!) thankful that He didn't stay in the tomb, but rose again!

Today Clayton and I made "Resurrection Rolls." I love the Resurrection Cookie recipe that we used last year, and I plan to make those again with him this weekend. I love the way that it uses scriptures throughout the recipe to tell the Easter story. But, this was a fun, quick recipe to try. It also tasted better (in my opinion) than the meringue cookies. You can't go wrong with Crescent rolls, butter, and cinnamon/sugar. Ha! ;)

Resurrection Rolls:

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 pkg. jumbo size marshmallows
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 small dish of cinnamon/sugar mix
wax paper

Separate the uncooked rolls and spread out on wax paper.

Give each child a marshmallow. Explain that the marshmallow with its white color represents Jesus who was pure and without sin. Have children place the marshmallow in the middle of their roll and fold/roll the dough until the marshmallow is completely covered up.
Explain how Jesus was laid in the tomb and how the tomb was sealed. (Be sure all of the edges are "pinched" together!)
Then tell the children how normally when people were buried in Jesus' time someone anointed them with oils and spices, but that Jesus' friends had to wait because the Sabbath was upon them and they could not go into the tomb. (During this time, have the children dip their "tomb" in the butter and then in the sugar/cinnamon mix.)
Then explain that they had to wait three days until they could come into the tomb. At this point, put the rolls in the oven and bake according to the directions on the crescent roll can.

When baked, give each child a tomb. Ask them to "open" it and see what the women found when they went to the tomb the first Easter morning!
The "tomb" is empty! Celebrate, Rejoice, and Eat!

After eating one (or a bunch!) of the rolls, we dyed Easter eggs. We had fun together while Little Brother was napping. Maybe next year Drew will be old enough to join in the fun. ;)


When Drew woke up, Clayton showed him the eggs. He kept saying, "Ball. Ball."

What a fun day we had!