Primary Current Assemblies
HOT CROSS BUNS AND EASTER EGGS
By the Revd Catherine Williams
Suitable for Whole School
Aim
To explore the story of Good Friday and Easter Sunday (death and resurrection) using popular Easter foods.
Preparation and materials
- You will need a hot cross bun and an Easter egg (hollow in the middle or with sweets inside – not a creme egg).
- OHTs showing the crucifixion and the resurrection (or large posters or PowerPoint).
Assembly
- Talk about how at Easter time in this country we often eat two very special treats. See if anyone can work out what they are – encourage answers until you get hot cross buns and Easter eggs.
- Ask if anyone knows the reason why we have hot cross buns. Point to the cross on the bun and tell the story of Good Friday, emphasizing that Jesus died on the cross. Show the picture of the crucifixion to illustrate.
- Ask if anyone knows why we have chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday. You may get several different answers for this! Tell the story of Easter Sunday, emphasizing the resurrection of Jesus. Explain that eggs are symbols of new life, just like the new life Jesus had. Also the chocolate egg can be empty, just like the tomb of Jesus on Easter Day, or it can be filled with a delicious surprise. The women and men who followed Jesus had the best surprise ever when they realized that Jesus had come back from the dead and was alive again. Again use the picture of the resurrection, or empty tomb, to help explain. You could use a children’s Bible or storybook.
- Encourage the children to remember the story of the first Easter when they are eating their hot cross buns and Easter eggs. Ask if any are going to give you an after-Easter surprise by giving you their Easter eggs!
Time for reflection
Reflection:
Ask the children to sit quietly, close their eyes and think what it must have been like for Jesus to come back to life on Easter Sunday.
What was it like for his followers, the men and women who had been with him and seen him die a painful death?
What was it like for them after their special friend had died?
And then, what was it like when he came back to life, a special, new kind of life that he shared with them?
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for hot cross buns and chocolate eggs at Easter.
Help us to remember their special meaning –
that Jesus died on the cross
and then was raised to life for all of us.
Amen.
Song:
‘Jesus in the garden’ (Come and Praise, 129)
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