I’ll admit: I’m not a fan of the Easter Bunny. As a Children’s Ministry Director, I do not bring the Easter bunny into any kidmin event our church offers. That’s because Easter is not about the bunny. I just don’t believe my job is to teach the kids at church about a fake bunny. Nor is it to decorate our halls with cute Easter bunnies (or chicks, for that matter). I can’t bring myself to do it.
Recently, a friend texted to say she saw a sign that reminded her of my dislike for the Easter bunny. It said, “Silly rabbit…Easter is for Jesus!” I love that! Maybe I need to get one to hang up at church.
Easter Is Not About the Bunny: It’s About Jesus!
I believe in teaching my own kids and the kids in my church about the true meaning of Easter: Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. The holiday is not about some cute bunny hopping into our houses to leave baskets of candy. It’s about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So if Easter is not about the bunny, where did that come from? I looked up the Easter Bunny’s origin, just to make sure it didn’t have some religious meaning. It doesn’t. None! Every website I visited said it’s folklore. The legend dates to 15th-century Germany. Much as with Santa, kids left out carrots hoping the Easter bunny replaced them with candy. The Easter Bunny has no religious meaning. Easter is not about the bunny!
Every year our church holds a family Easter event. It always includes an egg hunt and some fun activities for kids. One year, though, I decided not to stuff the eggs. Not just for the ease (though that was an added bonus), but because I wanted kids to search for eggs with no candy inside. That way, they could connect it with Jesus’ empty tomb.
I was a little worried some children would cry. But I was pleasantly surprised, because no one complained. When I asked what the empty egg might represent, kids knew it was the empty tomb! I did tell kids they could trade in their eggs at the Resurrection station for a big bag of candy, though. And they were very excited about that.
KidMin Stations for Holy Week and Easter
After the egg hunt, families rotated to five stations: Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, Garden of Gethsemane, Good Friday, and the Resurrection. At each station, families read a card together and then did an activity. For Palm Sunday, they decorated palms and waved them shouting, “Hosanna!” At the Last Supper station, they ate bread and washed each other’s feet.
