Two important events are the focus of Maundy Thursday.
First, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples and thereby instituted the Lord’s Supper .
Second, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as an act of humility and service, thereby setting an example that we should love and serve one another in humility.
The word “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “command.” The “Maundy” in Maundy Thursday refers to the command Jesus gave to the disciples at the Last Supper, that they should love and serve one another.
- The bunny, as an Easter symbol, seems to have it's origins in Germanys. The Easter bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Children believed that if they were good the "Oschter Haws" or Easter bunny would lay a nest of colored eggs.
- Of all the symbols associated with Easter, the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the most identifiable. The tradition of using eggs have been associated with Easter for centuries. Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring .
Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Crimson eggs, to honor the blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of Germany and Austria green eggs are used on Maundy Thursday
Turn your oven to 350.
While your oven is preheating,
read John 19
Ingredients :
Crescent Rolls
8 large marshmallows
Melted Butter
Cinnamon Sugar
Roll out the crescent rolls (each container has 8)
The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Read Matthew 27:57-60
The marshmallow represents Jesus.
Have them dip the marshmallow in butter, which represents the oils of embalming.
Dip the buttered marshmallow in cinnamon sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
Make sure the marshmallow is well coated with cinnamon sugar
Then wrap the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll to seal it.
This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
Place the rolls on a baking sheet.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
The oven represents the tomb!
Let the rolls cool slightly. Then, the kids can open their rolls (the cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there.....HE IS RISEN!
The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.
Now read Matthew 28:5-8