"Tis Easter Day"

"Whoever wants to serve me must follow me,
so that my servant will be with me where I am.
 And my Father will honor anyone who serves me."
 John12:26

IF
If I had been with Mary
That first glad Easter Day,
When she brought spices to the tomb
And found the stone away,

I'm sure that I'd have been as glad
As anybody there
And I'd have looked among the rocks
And almost everywhere,

And maybe I'd have been the one
To hear the dear Christ say,
''Go tell my friends, now sorrowing,
I rose. 'Tis Easter Day.''

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Easter's Brightness

A little girl smells the Easter flowers on an antique postcard.

EASTER'S BRIGHTNESS
'Most everybody has new clothes
Or hats or something fine
At Easter, and I think sometimes
The sun just tries to shine

A little brighter so the flowers
Will hurry up and bloom
To show the world how Christ came out
From that dark, dismal tomb.

       Did you know that eggs, chrysalis and kernels of grain were all familiar symbols at Easter long ago? With the egg and chrysalis we are most familiar, but in olden times grains of kernels were also used. In England a tiny cross, together with grains of barley and wheat were once found in the center block of oaken mantel pieces. The custom had long been forgotten when it was recalled by this discovery of the three emblems in the mantel of the room in which Shakespeare was born. A Commissioner in charge of the restoration of this house, took from it a block of old wood for a souvenir on behalf of a friend who was a Shakespearean scholar. This scholar in turn, tried to split the wood so as to share the gift with another friend and discovered it to be hollow. Inside, it contained a cross, three grains of barley and a piece of tow (uncleansed wool). To his honor, be it said, the scholar restored the relic to the house at Stratford on Avon, where it is hopefully still on exhibition.

 At church, all little girls and boys
Sing hymns that tell of Easter joys.

Easter singing coloring page from 1950s

 

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Easter Secret

 EASTER SECRET

Do you know why we are happy,
Do you know why we are glad?
It's a secret that we treasure,
One that never makes us sad.

But to you we'll tell our secret,
If you promise us ahead,
To tell to all the world the message,
''Christ is risen from the dead.''

 

Jesus washes his disciples feet coloring page.

       "At the Last Supper Jesus got up from the table and washed the disciples' feet. When he came to Peter, the disciple asked him why he was doing it. Jesus said Peter would know later why he washed his feet. Then he told all the disciples that if he, their Lord and master, had washed their feet, they ought to serve each other in the same spirit. He said he did it to give them an example that they should follow. After the supper they all sang a hymn and left the upper room where they had eaten and went to the Mount of Olives."

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Poem "I Wonder" and A Butterfly Paper Craft

 I WONDER

I wonder if, that awful night,
The night when Jesus died,
When on the cross between two thieves
The Lord was crucified,

The little boys weren't frightened,
It grew so dark, you know,
And if they ran away and hid,
That night so long ago.

And then I wonder when they found
That Jesus Christ arose
If they weren't glad as anything.
'Spose anybody knows?

 

Butterfly and Iris Paper Cut Border

       Download and print out the pattern below. The dotted lines indicate where the image will be folded to continue the butterfly and iris silhouette seamlessly after it is unfolded. The number of images "linked" together in one continuous chain is determined by the length of the paper being cut. Use a very thin paper to make your cutting easier. Cut away the areas indicated by the design. (see image above and read text on the pattern below. This paper-cut may be used as a border around an Eater bulletin board in a classroom or as a paper chain for a shelf at home.

Butterfly paper cut border.

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My Easter Bunny

Sweet vintage postcard of grey bunnies for Easter.

 MY EASTER BUNNY

My Bunny has the longest ears
That ever you did see,
And just the brightest little eyes,
He almost winks at me!

And then I just imagine
I hear my Bunny say,
''My, everybody's happy
And glad on Easter Day.''

 The rabbits favorite foods are scrambled below! Try to guess what these are and leave some behind for him to snack on while he fills your basket with Easter eggs and marshmallow chics...

An Easter themed word scramble.

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The First Easter

  THE FIRST EASTER

I'spect that it was pretty dark
That morning long ago,
When those three women started out
With all those things to go

To where they knew their Christ was laid,
And everything was still,
And maybe not a sound was heard
By anyone until

That Mary saw the stone was gone,
And then the coming day
Began to make the whole world bright;
Then, when she turned away,

She saw a man come walking down
The path, and suddenly
She knew her Lord had risen indeed,
And wished the rest could see.

And I just 'spose that Jesus knew
Where the disciples stayed,
And so He said, ''Go tell them all.
'Tis I, be not afraid.''

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The Little Boy

A little boy with his slate makes figures and calculates.

 THE LITTLE BOY

You know I think that little boy
Who gave his lunch one day
To help to feed a hungry crowd
Who'd come a long, long way

To hear what Jesus said to them,
Was standing near that night
And wondered what a boy could do
To make things come out right.

And I'm 'most sure that he was there
With all the sorrowing men,
That little boy loved Jesus, too,
I know He'd be there then.

And Easter morning when the stone
Had all been rolled away,
I'm very sure that little boy
Was glad 'twas Easter Day.

As home from church, our way we wend,
Brother gives flowers to his friend.

A polite boy gifts an Easter jonquil to his friend.

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