A Blessed Triduum! How to Celebrate it with Children

Our Easter Triduum, such a wonderful time in our faith, as we trace our history.  Triduum means 'three days' and it refers to the events of the Last Supper, Jesus' death, and His resurrection.  It begins at sundown on Holy Thursday, and continues until sundown on Easter Sunday.  So, in terms of hours, it is three days, but it does actually take part over the course of four calendar days!  On Holy Thursday, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the Priesthood at the Last Supper.  On Good Friday, we remember Jesus' sacrifice for us, redeeming our sin.  Finally, at the Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday, we remember and rejoice in the resurrection.  What an amazing few days!  Here are some ways to observe this time with your kids.

All Ages:
Have a Holy Week Egg Hunt, where you hunt for symbols of Holy Week and read about what happened that week.  The original post can be found here.

Have a Holy Thursday  meal, with foods that illustrate the events of the Last Supper.  A list of ideas can be found on this sheet. 

For kids who like to get creative, pull out the building blocks (Legos) and have them build Holy Week scenes.  They could make scenes of the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' Crucifixion, or the tomb where He was buried.  Below are some that our parish children created on Palm Sunday.

Go to church and pray the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.  Some parishes, ours included, have stations geared specifically for children.  If you don't have access to these or can't attend, you can find many Stations for Children online that you could print out and bring with you to pray.  You could also pray them at home if you can't get to church.  Type 'children's stations of the cross' into your favorite search engine.

Eat hot cross buns on Good Friday, as they are a traditional food.  Talk about why they are traditional.  (They are meatless, and the icing cross reminds us of Jesus' sacrifice and death.)  Just remember that Good Friday is a day of fasting for adults without health restrictions, so adjust accordingly.

This is our tree brought to life by the good deeds of our parish kids.  The base was white for Holy Thurday.

For Older Kids:
 I really only have one suggestion here, but it's an important one.  Take them to church during the Three Days.  While Easter is obvious, often families don't think about going to church on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or attending the Easter Vigil.  These liturgies are such a wonderful expression of our faith, that I highly recommend going to them, once your kids are old enough to pay attention and have some understanding of what's going on.

Holy Thursday is about an hour and a half long.  It has unique parts to it, such as the washing of feet, and processing with the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose.  My 1st and 3rd graders will be attending with me for the first time this year.

Good Friday will usually have a stations of the cross service and also a liturgical service.  These are an hour to an hour and a half in length.  The liturgical service will have a proclamation of the Passion, the story of how Jesus died.

The Easter Vigil is about 3 hours long, and could be longer.  There are many readings during the vigil, and they trace the history of our faith.  Fire will be blessed, and Mass will begin with the church in darkness, gradually becoming lit with candles and the church lights.  This is a powerful symbol of Christ as the light of the world.  A new Paschal Candle that will be lit during Easter and for baptisms and funerals throughout the year is blessed.  RCIA candidates will be baptized, receive 1st communion, and be confirmed on this special night.  I will probably wait a few more years to take my children as it is a very long Mass and doesn't begin until sundown.  If your kids are middle school or older, however, this is a wonderful and beautiful Mass to celebrate with your family and parish.

May the richness of our faith and the depth of Christ's love touch your heart this Triduum!
Carolyn