Celebrating Easter during COVID-19

This is our second time celebrating Easter during a pandemic. Although social distancing and vaccine distribution are still in progress, the holiday roots remain the same. It’s time to bring cheer and fun despite the ongoing pandemic and the third lockdown.

Due to COVID, religious ceremonies are unable to be conducted in person. Thanks to a number of organizations, Christians are able to celebrate Passover and Easter virtually through live streaming. Some priests hold mass through platforms like Zoom, Youtube and Facebook Live.

This is a clip of how churches found new ways to hold Easter services last year.

Before you make any plans, make sure you follow CDC guidelines. The main task is to keep everyone safe and limit community spread. Otherwise, more lockdowns will be coming soon and we certainly will not want this to happen during the coming warm summer weather.

Whether you are celebrating Easter in a religious aspect or not, it is a joyful time to get together with friends and family.

Virtual Easter hunt

Easter hunt is definitely the highlight of the holiday for kids. Eggs have been a symbol of new life and birth as it represents Jesus’ resurrection. Although Bustle says the roots for the Easter egg hunt are not clear, it is believed that it originated back in the 1700s when the Pennsylvania Dutch believed that there was an egg-laying hare called Oschter Haws (Easter Bunny). Children were encouraged to build nests for the Easter Bunny to lay in and search for the eggs.

Here are some tips for how to conduct it virtually.

• Easter Egg Hunt Clues: You will need to set up some clues to know where to hide eggs around your house. Here are some suggested simple clues.

• Send clues to participants

• Stuff the Easter eggs: go and have your family stuff the Easter eggs for the kids to find. You can also end the hunt with their own Easter baskets. More ideas will be mentioned below.

• Hide the eggs according to the clues

• Start the hunt: when everyone is ready on zoom, get the host to read the first clue. Continue until it is finished.

Although it is a small-scale activity, it is a great time for a laugh and gets the kids to move.

Easter basket

Receiving a gift is probably one of the best parts of the holiday. Who doesn’t like gifts? Of course, you need to get gifts that are suitable for the age of the receiver. Here are some suggestions.

For Kids

• Stuffed animals

• 3D puzzles

• Books

• Candies

A personalized Easter bunny (Etsy)

For Teens

• Notebook

• Lip Balm

• Airpod case

• iPhone case

• Makeup & Bags

Floral AirPods Case (Paper Source).

For Adults

• Wine

• Skincare products

• Technology products

• Floral gardening tools

• Coffee mug

• Easter Egg Bath Bombs

Garden tools (Amazon).

Any gifts are precious and enjoyable but connecting them to Easter-themed will be a bonus. Also, try to organize the gifts into a basket. Be creative!

Easter treats

On every holiday, we should all try to make something festive! It can be elegant, sophisticated or adorable. It is a creative way to bond with family. Here are some ideas.

Easter Egg cookie

What’s better than decorating the cookies with all kinds of colours and shapes? With only a few stripes or polka dots, you will create a basket of pretty unique eggs.

Image is courtesy of A Head of Thyme.

Bird’s Nest Cookies

This treat may seem complicated but you only need four ingredients: milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chow mein noodles and mini eggs. Coat the noodles with the melted chocolate and butterscotch chips and scoop mini eggs or jelly beans on top.

Image Courtesy of Dinner at the Zoo

Cinnabunnies

This is a great recipe to make with the kids especially for cinnamon bun lovers. Instead of rolling into a roll, you will twist them to create bunnies by splitting them into ears, heads, bodies and tails. Add chocolate chips for the eye if you like.

Image Courtesy of Julie Blanner

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns mark the end of Lent as the cross represents a crucifix. It is typically eaten on Good Friday. These buns are similar to a dinner roll and cinnamon roll with delicious spices.

Smash Cake

What’s better than smashing a cake to reveal tons of surprises of candies and chocolates? Go and buy one online and make a surprise. Here is a suggested link: https://breakmeplz.com

Image Courtesy of breakmeplz.com

Easter decorations

Easter always feels like the start of spring. It’s a breath of fresh air from the cold winter. Try to customize your house and bring out your creative DIY skills.

Origami Bunny

These cute paper bunnies are perfect for table setting. You can choose any paper template and make yourself a beautiful display. Here is the suggested link for the instructions.

Bird’s Nest Wreath

This wreath combines bird’s eggs and dried flowers to welcome spring. There are a lot of vibrant colours you can coordinate with your home. This link has instructions on how to make one.

Napkin Bunny Ear

These simple decorations just bring your meal to another level. Although it is very simple, it hypes up the holiday spirits. This link is one of the suggested videos to learn how to make a napkin bunny ear.

Tulip Tablescape

Tulips are inexpensive and one of the most common types of flowers. They also come in handy to decorate your dining table. Try adding the above Easter treats as the finishing touches.

Decorate Easter Eggs

Easter eggs are slightly complicated but they can be aesthetically pleasing to look at. Just poke the egg at the bottom to empty it. Then get yourself with all sorts of tie dye and decorate them. Every egg is very unique! Learn how to decorate an Easter egg here.

Image Courtesy of Eggs.ca

Coronavirus doesn’t have to kill Easter. The best way is to utilize your amazing and creative brain to create an enjoyable and joyful Easter. You can still have a lot of fun at your home. Stay safe, healthy and optimistic. Enjoy the long weekend and Happy Easter everyone!

Article Author: Michelle Lam

Article Editors: Edie Whittington, Sherilyn Wen