Easter is a time of real celebration. Children wake up in the morning to the sight of Easter baskets stuffed full of all kinds of goodies. Families dress up in their Sunday best and go to church. Family and friends gather together to share a delicious meal. And somewhere along the way there is typically the long-standing tradition of the Easter egg hunt. It’s amazing! It’s like another Christmas, only in the Springtime. So how are we supposed to celebrate Easter, or really anything, now that we are all quarantined? 

Get Creative:

There’s allot we can still do to celebrate if we are willing to be creative. After all, “Necessity is the mother of invention” right? Many of us have already gotten pretty good at ordering our groceries online instead of in store. But, what do you do if you find that the items you want are sold out, like ham and potatoes? Well, maybe you do something different, like serving fish tacos for the Easter meal instead. I know we all want our comfort foods right now, but it could be fun to get creative with our edible traditions and make memories while we’re at it. After all I seem to recall a certain miracle where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. If it was good enough for our Lord, why not for us on this holiest of celebration days. Actually, there is allot of freedom being given here. This is the one year you get a pass and aren’t expected to bring your famous jello salad to Aunt so and so’s. So, live it up. Be creative. Many people are getting creative with their children’s missed birthday celebrations as well. We are facing that prospect ourselves with 2 very big birthday years just around the corner for both of our kids. I’m in the middle of that planning right now. And let me tell you if our son’s senior year ends with no formal graduation ceremony planned, you can bet I’m gonna get creative to make sure that one happens in whatever way it has to. Thankfully my husband is a high school teacher and so there have already been talks about a possible backyard BBQ and ceremony using a fake diploma and his teacher’s cap and gown (the one he uses every year for graduations). The upside to all of this is that our son would get to give the Valedictorian speech for his class . 

Start New Traditions:

Easter is about celebrating new life. Everywhere around us there are tangible reminders of new life. Spring has sprung and tiny shoots of green are appearing, buds are blooming, baby birds are chirping, and bunnies are bouncing. When we stop to observe it all, it feels so fresh and so full of hope, even as we face this pandemic season of crisis. New life and hope is the story of Easter after all. The new life that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bought for us when He paid the ultimate price on a cross; and the hope we now have because He has offered this life to us freely. So, as we celebrate this new life and the new hope that we have been given why not honor that by starting some new traditions. With so many of us using technology to connect face to face, why not make up a new game and make that a new Easter tradition for those near and far to play for years to come, even when this season of quarantine is over. Why not find a new recipe and try it out and name it something fun to remember this crazy time together? Why not find a new and even more creative way to do an Easter egg hunt. One new thing our family will be doing this year is going to church in our PJs. Seriously! Our church is streaming the service live so we get to hang out in our Livingroom and watch it in our PJs. Hmm…, I wonder if church in our PJs could become a new tradition? In addition to missed Easter traditions, there are other traditions being missed as well of course with each day of quarantine that passes by. But instead of feeling badly that you cannot continue the tradition this year. Why not find a new way to celebrate what needs celebrating. 

Be Present:

One of the best ways we can celebrate at this time is to simply be present with each other. It sounds funny, being that we are all so VERY present these days with the quarantine causing us to live, work, and school all within the same square footage of our homes. But being present doesn’t just mean physically. It can mean mentally or emotionally as well. We all need each other to get through this. And when it comes to celebrating Easter, or any celebration really, the most important thing is and has always been, that we are present with each other. In this way, we can always celebrate. Even during a time such as this, where many of the comforts of life are stripped away, we still have each other. And we just might find that the simpleness of this season has brought about the chance to re-prioritize what really matters in life, and the chance to learn to celebrate in new and creative ways. This unique time of quarantine may actually lead to some of our most cherished memories of celebration. 

So how about you? How is your family coping with the changes to holidays and celebrations due to the quarantine? Have you found any new fun and creative ways to celebrate? Any new traditions?