How to Celebrate Holy Week At Home With the Kids

About 79 percent of Americans will celebrate Holy Week, which will begin on Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022, and culminate on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022. It's not a federal holiday, which means parents will still work and kids will still have school, but it remains an opportunity for many Christians to learn more about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

At home, parents may initiate short activities with their children before going to bed so they can reflect on the religious holiday. The Purposeful Mom suggested reading out Lenten stories from the Bible so that the kids could reflect on Jesus' sacrifices for humankind.

Visits to the church will also be frequent during Holy Week, especially Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday. However, there might be online services hosted by the church that will allow families not to miss the services and rites if they need to be up early for work or school the next day.

The family may also recreate some of the historical events that happened during the final days of Jesus Christ. For instance, the parents can initiate the washing of the feet, which Jesus did to his apostles, to demonstrate the value of humility.

Solemn Holy Week Activities with the Kids

Art museums in the metropolitan area will likely have exhibits of the Passion of Christ for this season, which should give parents and the older children a lot of reflection to ponder. But if museum visits are not possible, dad or mom can, instead, find the movie "The Passion of Christ" on a streaming platform so the family can have a religious movie viewing.

During one afternoon in the week, the family could also plant marigold seeds in egg cartons filled with soil and some eggshells. This will give the kids something to watch grow during the week to send a strong message about the value of life. According to Garden Design, Marigolds are a no-fuss plant as they can sprout in a matter of days, but their flowers will take at least two months to bloom.

For Good Friday, establish and observe a three-hour quiet time from 3:00 p.m. to just before dinner time. If your family cannot go to the church for the Station of the Cross, you could have one at home with kids.

Fun But Meaningful Activities for the Children

Family Feast and Feria created a Station of the Cross for Children, which is a "watered-down" version of the actual church rites. Her kids enjoyed leading the rites and appreciated the artworks printed on placards to display as the "station." The materials for printing are provided on the site, including additional materials for booklets, pamphlets, and coloring pages.

Parents may also have an educational and fulfilling Holy Week celebration in the kitchen by preparing extraordinary dishes with the kids. Aside from hot cross buns or Easter lamb cakes, Mom and the kids can bake a round of Paskha, the sweet Ukrainian bread for Easter, made of cream cheese, butter, sour cream, sugar, and a lot of raisins.

It takes more than a day for Pashka to be ready for eating, which could build up the excitement for the kids. But the most memorable part of the preparation is decorating the bread with religious designs like the cross or the Ukraine flag.

Different versions of Pashka are abundant online. Baking this bread is also a way for the kids to say a silent prayer for peace for the people of Ukraine.