Celebrate the Real Reasons Behind Easter
When Easter comes around, it’s easy to get caught up in chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. But Easter has now become (like Christmas) simply a consumerist binge, leading to lots of factory-farmed animal products on sale, and a plastic mountain.
Of course, the real reason to celebrate was the risen Christ, after he was crucified on the cross. One could argue that this was more of an important celebration than Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Christ, and there is debate whether that was in December!)
Jesus Listens is a beautifully illustrated 40-day devotional for Lent and Easter, complete with Scripture, prayers and reflections. Spend these days in time with the Lord, to carry you into the season to celebrate the joy of resurrection of Jesus.
Enjoy more peaceful moments this holiday season. Find words of hope, from God’s heart to yours. This devotional is ideal for:
- Anyone longing to draw closer to Jesus
- Those looking for comfort, calm and peace
- Families who wish to pray devotions together
The prayers, reflections and Bible verses in this book are accompanied by stunning illustrations, making this treasure a beautiful gift or keepsake.As you pray Scripture through the holiday season, experience not only God’s answers, but how prayer connects you to God. This can change your heart, and bring peace to one of the year’s celebratory times.
Sarah Young was one of the world’s most successful writers of Christian devotionals, before her death in 2023. She and her husband were missionaries in Japan and Australia for many years, before moving to the USA.
Celebrating Easter Beyond Consumerism
Easter is not about plastic egg hunts, Easter bunnies and roast lamb. It’s about remembering the real reason why Christ was risen (to forgive us of our sins). So that enables us to forgive others, and live in His glory and be influenced by his life. Many people (especially Catholics) use the time before Easter to practice Lent, when you give something up for 40 days.
Of course, the main ‘fast’ was things in the store cupboard, which has how pancakes were invented (on Shrove Tuesday, it was a good way to ‘use everything up’. Try these vegan pancakes (Doves Farm). Keep citrus fruits away from pets.
The flours are combined with plant milk and a little oil to make a batter that you can use immediately, or up to 12 hours. Then simply cook the 4 pancakes separately, which only takes a few minutes, and serve with fresh lemon juice and a little natural sugar.
So it makes sense to learn this basic pancake recipe, rather than buy plastic-wrapped pancake mix from supermarkets! The chickpea flour is also a natural high-protein egg-replacer (use to make vegan omelettes).
A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer
Made for Heaven is a beautiful book by Fr. Agustino Torres with stunning art by Valerie Delgado. Begin the season with a vow of poverty and end at Easter, with a heart that is open to love, serve and care for others.
Along with daily meditations on a passage from Scripture, there are also reflection questions, prayer and space for journalling. In six transformative weeks, you will learn how to allow the Holy Spirit to move in your heart through a new theme each week.
Reflect on the story of Jesus being cast in the desert (to make your life about Christ), allow yourself to become transformed by your spiritual gifts, accept the call to conversion and say yes to a life of simplicity (like St Joseph).
Let the healing power of God challenge you to become a vessel of mercy and learn how to pray and look beyond ourselves. During Holy Week, experience a deep encounter with God, through the ancient liturgy of the Church.
Father Augustino Torres is a Catholic priest with Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the founder of Corazón Puro and Latinos por la Vida. He is the author of several books, and also works as a retreat guide, and international youth speaker.
‘Watercolour Easter’ Recycled Greetings Cards
Recycled paper greetings cards reduce waste, and are far better than paper printed with FSC-paper (which still involves trees being chopped down).
Never sent plantable (embedded with seeds) cards to homes with pets, as many have wildflowers which are toxic to pets. Daffodils and all bulbs are also unsafe near animal friends.
These watercolour Easter greetings cards are perfect to stock up on, when sending a card at Easter time. They are hand-painted and printed onto eco-fleck card in an A6 size.
The cards are blank inside for your message, and are sold with 100% recycled brown Kraft envelopes. Featuring happy hens and Easter daffodils, the packs contain 1 of each design.
Celebrate an Animal-Kind Easter Sunday!
Rather than buy factory-farmed dairy chocolate or eat cute lambs, try some plant-based recipes, because Jesus was a kind man who loved all creatures!
Make Your Own Vegan Hot Cross Buns
These spelt vegan hot cross buns (Doves Farm) are made to a traditional recipe, using the company’s own organic flours. Spelt flour is easier to digest, an ancient relative of wheat. Serve the buns hot or cold, with Flora palm-oil-free vegan butter.
Keep fresh dough away from children. Keep dried fruits and spices away from pets. Read more on food safety for people & pets.
Made with brown sugar, plant milk, oil and lemon juice, you then add currants and mixed peel to the dough. After kneading, leave the dough to rice and then roll out to make your buns. Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack.
Super-Cute Vegan Easter Cookies
How sweet are these? These vegan Easter cookies (Full of Plants) only require a few simple ingredients including a non-spreadable vegan block butter (Flora is good and has no palm oil).
The cute colours use a few ingredients that may be obscure. Use homemade vegan food dyes if you want them different hues. The main ones being:
- Matcha is a Japanese powder to turn things green. It’s very strong so you only need a little, which is good as it’s green tea, so makes things taste of grass! The authors suggest adding a little cinnamon to mask the taste (matcha is good in tea, not cake!)
- Beetroot powder can turn foods pink or red. It’s better than beetroot juice, which can change the texture, and won’t make things as pink.
- Acai is a superfood berry to turn things purple. You only need a tiny amount (so the amount of superfoods you get is low, but the colour is a lot). It even leaves pretty purple flecks.
- Turmeric is a spice to turn things yellow (it’s often used by vegans to make ‘scrambled egg and omelettes’). You can add a little beet powder or juice to turn this dye orange. Again turmeric has a strong (curry) flavour, so add a little cinnamon if wished.
Choose Plant-Based Easter Eggs
Happi offers many flavours of oat milk chocolate, including gingerbread. This company even makes sustainably-packaged oat milk Easter eggs and Christmas advent calendars.
