Growing up in an observant Catholic family, the week leading up to Easter was the highlight of the liturgical year. It started with a special service on Palm Sunday, when my dad would turn palm fronds into little crosses that we’d pin to the visors of the family car. Thursday was Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, and represented Jesus’ last supper with his disciples before his death, complete with a ceremony in which the parish priest washed the feet of several prominent church members, which was always entertaining to watch as a child. Friday was the Stations of the Cross, which was without a doubt my least favourite service because you were constantly standing and kneeling, standing and kneeling, over and over again. The procession of special services continued with Easter Vigil on Saturday, a sombre ceremony that seemed to go on forever. And finally we arrived at Easter Sunday, a joyful mass when everyone wore their fanciest dresses and the church was filled with strangers who only came to church on twice a year.
It’s been decades since I left the church, and Easter looks and feels a lot different now. My partner grew up in a secular family, and our family traditions now reflect his childhood experiences – chocolates and Easter egg hunts and bunnies everywhere. It’s different, but no less special and meaningful, and however you celebrate Easter or the arrival of spring, I hope your weekend is filled with joy and sweets!
No spring story time is complete without a bunny song, so here’s a version of I’m a Little Teapot I came up with that lets kids bounce around like happy little bunnies, thumping their bunny feet all around the room! My story time kids love nothing more than to jump, so anything with a bunny is guaranteed to please.
And here’s a bonus bunny poem – written (and illustrated!) by yours truly all the way back in 1989! My creative talents were already making themselves known. 😉
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend, however you celebrate, and that it’s finally starting to feel like spring in your neck of the woods (or fall, I suppose, for my southern hemisphere friends).
Jone Rush MacCulloch is hosting Poetry Friday this week!