An Easter Tradition

For those who haven't seen this activity already, I wanted to share one of our favorite Easter traditions. It is a kit of 13 plastic eggs which each have something inside to symbolize part of the true meaning of Easter. Our family usually opens the eggs in order on the Family Home Evening before Easter or on Easter Sunday. After the contents of an egg is revealed, we read a brief explanation of the symbol or a scripture that goes with it. The awesome part is that when you get to egg 13 you find it is empty. This represents the empty tomb- 3 days after Christ's burial- the happy news of the resurrection and what we celebrate at Easter. One of my children received this kit in Primary a few years ago.

This is what I use that I slightly altered from the copy we had:

The True Meaning of Easter, egg activity

#1 heart, John 13:34-35
One of the most important things Jesus taught the people during his mission on earth was to Love One Another. It is because Jesus loved us that he was willing to die for us and suffer for our sins.

#2 sacrament cup, Luke 22:19-20
Before he was crucified, Jesus called together his disciples and gave them the sacrament. When we take the sacrament we remember Him.

#3 scarlet cloth, Luke 22:39-34
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus suffered and bled for the sins of all people.

#4 silver, Matt 26:14-15
One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, identified Christ to the chief priests in return for payment of 30 pieces of silver.

#5 knotted twine, Matt 27:1-2
They wanted Jesus to be put to death so they bound him and led him to the governor Pontius Pilate.

#6 chunk of soap, Matt 27:22-26
Pontius Pilate believed that Jesus was a good man, but the people insisted that he be crucified. The governor washed his hands as a way of saying that it was not his choice to hurt Jesus. Jesus was treated very badly by the men who did not believe in him.

#7 nails,
Jesus was crucified

#8 sticks, Matt 27: 28-35
They teased him by putting a crown of thorns on his head, spitting on him, and making him drink vinegar. They took his clothes and cast lots to see who could keep them.

#9 crushed rocks, Matt 27:54, Helaman 14:21
When Jesus died the earth shook and rocks broke into pieces. This signified to many, that Christ was indeed the Son of God. It also was a sign to the people in other parts of the world.

#10 clean cloth, Matt 27:57-60
A good man named Joseph, asked for Christ’s body. He wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in the tomb.

#11 rock, Matt 27:62-66
The chief priests remembered that Christ said he would rise after three days. A large rock was put in front of the tomb and it was guarded by soldiers to make sure no one removed Jesus’ body.

#12 herbs and spices, Matt 28:1-5
Mary Magdalene and some other women came to brought sweet spices to the tomb so that they might anoint him. They were sad to see his body was not there. But an angel appeared to them and told them not to be afraid.

#13 empty egg, Matt 28:6
The angel declared of Jesus, “He is not here, for he has risen!”

This is the glorious message of Easter and why we celebrate it. Jesus loves us so much that he suffered for each us of us. He was willing to lay down his life for us and take our sins upon him so that we can repent and be forgiven. Just as he rose from the dead, so shall we. Christ gave us the greatest gift of all- eternal life. This is a message of joy and why we celebrate Easter.