Top Easter Movies for Kids and Families

Easter is, in many ways, two holidays. From the Easter Bunny to eggs and parades, these movies cover the more secularized version of the holiday. For religious DVDs that focus on the Christian meaning of Easter. 

1. It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (DVD) (1974) 

No holiday is complete without the Peanuts. Charles Schultz' Peanuts gang is getting ready for Easter. There are eggs to decorate and shopping trips to take, and of course Linus is telling anyone who'll listen about the Easter Beagle. Peanuts fans also get some fun glimpses of Woodstock and Snoopy in this springtime special. NR 

2. Hop 

In this live action (with some animation) film, E.B. (voice of Russell Brand) is the son of the one and only Easter Bunny (Hugh Laurie). E.B. has to have the sweetest life ever, but he has a passion much stronger than his sweet tooth: drumming. So, on the eve of his coronation to make him the new Easter Bunny, E.B. sneaks away and hops off to Hollywood, where he hopes to make his dreams of being a drummer come true. The candy coated world of the Easter Bunny will make your mouth water, and E.B.'s adventure has just enough comedy and fun for the whole family to enjoy. (Rated PG, recommended for ages 5+) 

3. Winnie the Pooh - Springtime with Roo (DVD) (2004) 

It's springtime in the Hundred Acre Woods, Easter day is here, and everyone is excited. Even Rabbit is in festive spirits, but he's more interested in Spring Cleaning Day. Roo and the gang are crushed when Rabbit even goes so far as to declare that Easter is cancelled. Can Roo, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger remind Rabbit of the fun of Easter and bring their favorite Easter Bunny back? (Rated G, ages 2+) 

4. Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies 

Bug's Bunnies Easter Funnies weaves together classic Looney Tunes with newly animated sequences, creating an all new story for kids and Looney fans of all ages. When the Easter Bunny is sick, Bugs and friends try their hand at taking over the job. Well, it seems like another bunny, one named Bugs in particular, might be the most apt at hopping around playing Easter Rabbit, but Sylvester, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn and Daffy all want to get in on the fun as well. 

5. The First Easter Rabbit 

Told and sung by the great Burl Ives, The First Easter Rabbit tells a Velveteen Rabbit-like story in classic Rankin/Bass style. Stuffy the Rabbit is a favorite toy who magically comes to life and is given a very special job. The cute and caring bunny is directed to journey to Easter Valley, a beautiful land where it is always springtime, and start a new tradition of delivering Easter treats to children. Unfortunatley, One cold-hearted villain does not want to see Stuffy succeed, and he tries to freeze Easter Valley and stop Easter from happening. With a little help from his friends and a lot of help from Santa Clause, though, Stuffy might just be headed down the Bunny Trail after all. (NR, recommended for ages 3+) 

6. Here Comes Peter Cottontail 

Peter Cottontail wants to be the chief Easter Bunny, but Evil Irontail is after the top spot as well. The competition is on, and Peter must deliver more eggs than Irontail, or Easter might be ruined for all of the children. Hop into an eggcellent adventure with Peter and his friends as they try to beat Irontail and save the day. (NR) 

7. Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie (DVD) (2006) 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie is a full-length sequel to the classic 1971 Rankin/Bass television special. The sequel updates the original's stop-motion puppetry with CGI animation, and features the voice of Miranda Cosgrove. In the musical adventure, Peter Cottontail is trying to pull off Easter even as the Evil Irontail and Jackie Frost, the queen of winter, try to foil his favorite holiday. (NR) 

8. The Great Easter Egg Hunt (DVD) 

Whiskers, a confused stuffed bunny rabbit in this animated adventure, must lead Peter's other toys in a quest for a cure for their owner's illness, so the little boy will be up and around by Easter. As the relentlessly upbeat rabbit canvasses the town for help after recruiting Peter's Spanish-accented parrot, Carmen, he eventually encounters the actual Easter Bunny. (NR) 

9. The Easter Bunny's Coming to Town 

Another Rankin/Bass special, The Easter Bunny's Coming to Town features the voice of Fred Astaire. The movie tells the story of Sunny the Bunny and his Kidsville friends as they invent all kinds of Easter traditions in order to win over a grouchy town. The hippity-hoppity adventure provides sprintime fun for children and families. (NR) 

10. Yogi the Easter Bear (DVD) (1993) 

It's Easter, and Yogi Bear is up to his old tricks stealing picnic baskets with his friend Boo Boo, and their antics don't bode well for the Easter Jamboree at Jellystone Park. Things get even worse when they find out that the Easter Bunny has been kidnapped, they must do everything they can to save him. (NR) 

The above movies cover the more secularized version of the holiday. He let us recall the classic, relive the different Easter. If you want to know more about Easter DVDs for Kids and Families, there is a link for you, and you can search the Amazon.com to look for more information.

April 20, 2014 Easter Sunday--The spirit of Easter

Schools have shut down for the second term holiday which means that the kids do not have to open another school book for the next three weeks and if they are anything like me when I was a student, they must be bubbling with excitement. Parents have their hands full during this period, lining up activities for the children because as we all know, ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’. So there’s the family visit to the mall, movie dates, visits to amusement and leisure parks and so on. We must not forget the urgency to purchase the Easter Sunday outfits for the children. All this coupled with the already busy schedules the parents have can get really overwhelming that we are all in danger of forgetting the significance and relevance of the season that we as Christians are celebrating.

You may say to yourself, ‘I know that Jesus Christ was crucified around this period and he rose again.’ This is absolutely correct however to us Christians, there is more to Easter than just knowing about the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.

Firstly, are you aware that Easter is the most important celebration on the Christian calendar? It called the Movable Feast for reason that it does not fall on a set date every year as other holidays do so it is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year.

Secondly, Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent which is the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness where he was tempted three times by the devil before starting his ministry. The day before Lent, known as Mardi gras is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins.

Thirdly, the week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his disciples; Good Friday which honours the day of his crucifixion and Holy Saturday which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. The 50-day period following Easter Sunday is called Eastertide and includes a celebration of Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

The Resurrection of Jesus attests that there is an eternal life beyond our earthly life and this is essentially the spirit of Easter.

Apart from going to church, you many choose to celebrate by participating in other Easter traditions like decorating Easter eggs. Although the symbol of the egg is rooted in a pagan springtime fertility feast, Christians have adopted the egg as an Easter symbol that represents new life. In many areas of the world, people colour and decorate hard-boiled eggs as part of their Easter celebrations.

Have an Easter egg hunt. Once the eggs are decorated, children search for eggs hidden throughout their homes or gardens. In some traditions, the Easter Bunny hides the eggs on Easter morning for the children to find later that day.

Celebrate with an Easter basket from the Easter Bunny. Like the egg, the rabbit was a symbol of fertility associated with the pagan festival of ‘Eastre’. In the 1500s, the Germans began using the Easter Hare as a symbol of rebirth at Easter. On the night before Easter, children would make nests from their bonnets and caps and leave them outside, where the Easter Hare would leave colourful eggs for them. Today, a common tradition is that the Easter Bunny brings baskets filled with candy to children on Easter morning.
 
Enjoy Easter chocolate bunnies and candy. The Germans are credited with inventing the chocolate Easter bunny in the 1800s. The chocolate bunny is now a traditional symbol of Easter. Other traditional types of Easter candy include chocolate eggs, marshmallow chicks and jelly beans.
 
Attend an Easter parade. The tradition of the Easter parade began in the 1800s as people walked down 5th Avenue in New York City after Easter Sunday church services. Now many cities offer Easter parades on Easter Sunday or the day before Easter.
 
You can also enjoy your Easter Sunday by having a hearty family dinner that would make everyone’s buttons pop.

Whatever your celebration may include be it chocolate bunnies, Easter eggs or a fantastic dinner do not forget to spread the love, give and be happy. The Son of God laid his life down for you because you are special.

Happy Easter!!!