Easter Dinner Traditions – Ham, Turkey, Easter Bunny and Eggs

Easter dinner traditions are both universal and personal, as we continue to make them each year. For nearly everyone, there is a customary meal, often the same one that has been served for years—whether it’s a turkey, a ham, or burgers on the grill. Most families tend to stick with the same meal year in and year out.

A family with young kids has survived the sugar rush, the wall climbing during Easter Mass, and a few outright brawls over some chocolate bunny that wasn’t actually intended to be eaten all at once. And if you’re like most families, everyone tiptoes around that awkward moment that has the potential to blow up into a huge family argument. But since it’s Easter, everyone will wait for three days before someone decides they’re still angry about it.

Rediscovering the Meaning of Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner is another one of those traditions that has lost its meaning for many people. Factor in the Easter Bunny, family members we see only once or twice a year, and a bit of undue stress, and the true essence of Easter Dinner can get lost in the mix.

At its core, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In some European countries, the daily ringing of church bells stops on Thursday in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s death. The tradition resumes in the early hours of Easter Sunday to commemorate the resurrection.

Devout Christians in America, as well as Christians worldwide, celebrate Easter in a spiritual manner. Non-celebratory Christians and borderline atheists who hold on to the “just in case” belief often view Easter Dinner as just another family gathering. How can people who are marginally religious (religious enough to celebrate the holiday but tend to skip the Mass part) find meaning in their Easter Dinner experience?

From a more practical standpoint, Easter is really about forgiveness, life, and, in a sense, everlasting life. For those who carry on Easter traditions for the family camaraderie and the Easter Bunny for the kids, Easter can still be a time of personal reflection and growth. Just as the Jewish people celebrate a day of forgiveness, Easter represents a time of reflection in a similarly abstract yet practical manner.

There are people in everyone’s life whom we’ve hurt or wronged, whether intentionally or accidentally. As humans, we err. Thus, Easter Dinner can easily become a meal of atonement and forgiveness. This year, perhaps instead of lecturing your little sister (we are grown-ups now, right?) on some basic principle you feel she’s missing in her life, why not offer an apology for the last lecture you dished out and work on accepting her for who she is? As you sit around the Easter Dinner table with the kids happily chatting away at their own little feast, why not shout out to junior that you forgive him for spilling apple juice all over the laptop last week, and encourage him to forgive someone else as well?

Easter does not need to be another empty, meaningless holiday for anyone—regardless of beliefs or level of belief. Easter Dinner traditions can be started at any moment with just a good idea and a bold thought. Easter candy and an Easter egg hunt are great fun for the kids, but what can they take away from dinner this year in terms of growing, loving, and forgiving? What traditions can you pass on to them that will mean something as they grow out of the Easter Bunny phase and stop searching frantically for eggs?

People without strong family ties, or those whose families have broken beyond repair, often don’t know how to re-ignite the Easter Dinner traditions from their own childhood due to the pain of family strife. Starting new Easter Dinner traditions can be quite healing for those who need a bit of holiday cheer. Even seemingly silly traditions can lead to a lifetime of happy memories for you and your family. Invite your kids to make special Easter plates with a plate-making kit or spruce up the house with Easter or spring decorations if they make you more comfortable.

Being alone at Easter can be remarkably difficult. For those who find themselves alone, or for couples and families that want to start a new tradition, adopting a grandparent can bring the spirit of Easter to life. Nursing homes typically have lists of people who rarely or never receive visitors. Making an Easter dinner and brightening the life of an elderly individual completely exemplifies the Easter spirit and can create a remarkably wonderful Easter tradition.

Easter Dinner traditions are as personal or universal as we make them. The more we understand ourselves and our beliefs, the more we understand our holidays and how we celebrate them. Regardless of personal situation, belief system, or family dynamics, a Happy Easter awaits everyone.