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-- I have fond memories of dyeing eggs and waking up to a basketful of candy. I would like BG to have similar memories.
-- I dislike it when religious holidays are divorced from their origins.
-- I don't want to teach her that the Jesus/Resurrection stuff is The Truth.
-- In general, I would like BG to know about a lot of different faith traditions and accept all of them as potentially valid so that as an adult she can find the faith (or rejection thereof) that works for her.
-- Basically, I want her to experience Easter as a fun ritual that also has a deeper meaning, but I don't want that deeper meaning to be exclusively Christian, but I do want to acknowledge the Christian take on Easter.
-- I also want to acknowledge the pre-Christian/early-Christian-era stuff that was coopted by the Christians.
-- I would kinda like to work Passover in as well, but off the top of my head I am really not sure how to do that.
-- It also would be nice if it tied in somehow to Tomb-Sweeping Day.
-- And, hey, if there are any other really cool springtime/rebirth rituals specific to this time of year celebrated in some other tradition, I'd consider working them in.
-- oh, and by the way, I'd like to do all this without misappropriating anyone's culture.
-- I don't really need to figure all this out now (she'll only be 16 months old by Easter), but it would be lovely to try something this year, as a dry run of sorts, that I can improve/build on in the years to come, when she's more aware.
-- In case you were wondering, there are not any picture books that cover this. (Not that I HAVE to have a book, but it makes a nice starting point, you know?)
I can cover the Christian part pretty competently, but what I know about Easter's pagan origins is basically American Gods and Wikipedia. What I know about Passover is what's written in the Old Testament, DeMille's Ten Commandments, and reading All of a Kind Family in 5th grade; what I know about tomb-sweeping day is what you can find on the Internet.
Where I am so far: Many people over time have celebrated the coming of spring, and eggs and rabbits and grass symbolize spring and new life and fertility and renewal; for people who are Christian, the renewal of spring after the death of winter symbolically corresponds with the resurrection. In re Passover ... lambs are springy new life, but I am not sure about the blood of the lamb part. Tomb-sweeping day is about celebrating springtime by honoring the dead, so the dual focus on death and life is there, but nothing about rebirth, AFAIK.
Y'all are smart and playful and celebrate a variety of traditions. Ideas (activities, verbiage, recipes)?