What is celebrated on Easter Monday?

Easter is a joyful occasion. The resurrection after the crucifixion is considered a sign of eternal life. People in the world celebrate Easter and signal: "Jesus is risen." Read about it in the Bible: "Christ says: I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and have the keys of death and hell "(Revelation 1,18) 

Understand Easter Monday as a public holiday

Easter Monday, like Easter Sunday, is a day when you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. However, there is a small difference: on Monday two disciples report on the resurrection and work of Christ after his death. The disciples call themselves "Emmaus disciples", named after a place.

Easter Monday is the last day of Easter and is celebrated as a day. He refers to the events after the resurrection. Sometimes you see a spectacle in the church where people re-enact the journey of the disciples and their encounter with Christ. He appears to the disciples and accompanies them.

Post-Resurrection Events 

In the Bible in Luke's Gospel you can read the story of Easter Monday: On Good Friday, soldiers nail the wounded Jesus to the cross, where he dies. Two men bury him and push a rock in front of the grave.

Three days later, on Easter Sunday, an angel pushes the tombstone aside and announces: "What Are you looking for the living among the dead? ”At a later date, two disciples leave Jerusalem away. They want to return to their hometown. On the way they meet an unknown man who joins them.

They talk about the event on Good Friday. The stranger asks: "What kind of conversations are these? This What happened to your Lord? Are you sad? "And the disciples tell of the crucifixion.

When the three hikers arrive in town, they invite the stranger to dinner. He sits down at a table, takes the bread in both hands, blesses and breaks it. He does like Jesus did at the last supper before Judas betrayed him.

"Ah!", The disciples notice in surprise, "this is the Lord!" It dawns on them. Because only he breaks the bread in this way. The moment you realize he's alive, he gets up and disappears.

The two set off for Jerusalem. They want to share the great news with the other disciples. They say that they met the Lord as an unknown man whom they only recognized when he broke bread.

How to tell children about Easter celebrations

Children love stories and are interested in what is happening. Tell the child about how Roman soldiers crucified Jesus and laid him in a grave after he died. In front of this grave they rolled a large one stone. An angel appears on Easter Sunday and rolls the stone aside.

Mary Magdalene and other women visit the tomb and wonder why it is empty. An angel sits inside the tomb and announces: "Do not be afraid. The Lord is risen from the dead. Go spread the good news. "The women leave the village and tell of the resurrection of Christ.

Share how two disciples left Jerusalem and wandered to their hometown. You meet an unknown man and talk to him. When the hikers arrive in town, they invite the stranger to dinner. The man blesses and breaks the bread. At that moment the men recognize the stranger.

Continue the story by sharing how Christ appeared to the other disciples. Tell how he shows his wounds and shares them with people. He speaks of the afterlife and gives hope.

Avoid complicated sentences. In addition, pictures help to capture the story visually. Show the child how an angel appears and rolls the stone aside in front of the grave. Children like pictures and associate your story with them. They help your "little" listener understand what is being said.

Words like angels, Jesus friends, Roman soldiers, heavy stone and good news round off your story and are understandable for children.

Easter Monday is part of the Easter festival 

Easter consists of three public holidays: Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Every holiday has a story of Christ and is celebrated. Holy Week is the week before Easter and ends with the events after the resurrection. On Monday two men meet the Lord and recognize him by the blessing and breaking of the bread.

The Easter stories tell you about eternal life. You will learn how the Lord dies on the cross, rises on the third day and meets people.