Fun ways to celebrate Easter as a family in spite of COVID-19, that’s the big question parents are asking at the moment.
Please tell me I am not the only parent who is still adjusting to social distancing, the lockdown, no more school for the kids and perturbed that Easter (April 12) might sneak up on her?
The good news is I have given the issue much thought and arrived on the following ways to celebrate Easter, in spite of the novel coronavirus:
Your concerns are valid:
Oh, yes! Be completely assured that your how’s and buts are as legit as can be. Everyone is asking those exact questions too. So, the first step is to get your self to be less paranoid and relax a bit, knowing you are right for wondering and asking questions. We are all in this together. So will Easter hold? Sure, it will. But will ceremonies such as Baptism and the likes happen too? Probably not…at least not the way it normally would have, because all public places including churches are still on a concrete lockdown.
Don’t worry about food:
For states like Lagos and the F.C.T where the lockdown is pretty tight for obvious reasons, the good news is you can still shop to replenish your food supplies. The government provided an allowance for markets to open every 48 hours, just so that headlines like: “Our first Easter without food on the Table” will not resonate with your family.
Now, will you be able to get your hands on really fresh Broccoli or Cabbage? probably not. Improvisation will have to lead the way this year, but Easter celebrations must go on in spite of covid19. It’s a good thing Easter, unlike Thanksgiving, doesn’t have food at the centre of its significance. You can just eat whatever you have and the day will come and pass smoothly.
Here’s a popular Easter meal recipe
Frejon is a popular meal eaten on Good Friday mostly by Catholics in Lagos. To prepare a quick Frejon meal, you will need the following ingredients:
1 Cup Black beans or black-eyed beans
2 Cups Coconut Milk
4 Cups Water (enough to cook beans till very soft)
1 tsp Ground Cloves
2 tbs Ground Sugar
PREPARATION
- Boil beans till very soft takes between 4 to 5 hours (use a pressure cooker because it would take less time)
- Place beans in a blender, add coconut milk and blend beans till very smooth
- Add blended mix to a pot and stir continuously, add coconut milk gradually till you get desired consistency.
- Add cloves, sugar and keep stirring for 10 minutes.
- Serve with fish stew and Garri.
Join Easter Service Online
Will you and your beloved family still be able to attend church service on Easter Sunday? Sure! But it just has to be online.
The coronavirus pandemic will not stop churches from celebrating with their congregants, but for this year’s Easter celebration, all roads lead to YouTube.
Ideally, a significant celebration as Easter would be befitting for the assembly of brethren to fellowship together, but this year it’s just not the responsible action to take. Thanks to innovation and Technology, however, we will all be meeting online.
Watch Easter-themed Movies
Thankfully, the coronavirus wahala cannot disturb this very essential part of celebrating Easter- watching Easter-themed movies, family-style. As usual, select a definite time and inform your kids that at that time, they are to make their way to the sitting room for ‘family time’.
This will provide you the opportunity to educate your children on the true meaning of the Easter celebration; with emphasis on the values/morals, you feel they ought to imbibe, answer their queries possibly arising from the film, and just have a good time as a family. After Easter lunch could be a good time for this.
Do something unusual:
What better time to Something you ordinarily wouldn’t do than this abnormal time birthed by covid19? So, have some fun in the kitchen together, be it a baking treat or a cook-off. Binge-watch YouTube videos together; who knows? Maybe you could make your own family’s cake decorating video together and save it for later.”
If you’d rather not, there are over a hundred digital/indoor games you could play, karaoke, a dance-off; or ask your kids what they might like to indulge in, that doesn’t involve leaving the house.
Click here to read the different types of parenting styles
Call your loved ones:
Now more than ever is the time to re-connect with extended family members, colleagues, acquaintances, and old friends.
Chats, phone calls, face-time- in the spirit of Easter, plus you’re not worried about going to work the next day- go for it now that you have the time. They will appreciate it; you will be happy you did, and the love and warmth of Easter would have gone around.
5 inexpensive ways to celebrate easter
CONCLUSION:
I know there is something undeniably nice about dressing up and stepping out for Easter, but I also think our health and safety is more important. Even as we all would love to know fun ways to celebrate Easter as family, let’s make the best of what we have with the hope that the Coronavirus Lockdown won’t last forever
Think of it this way: if we do what we are supposed to do (stay at home), we won’t have to for next year’s Easter. It’s not that bad really. Yes, it might not sound the most interesting, but be rest assured that your favourite Easter traditions, like church, or family brunch or dinner, are all still happening, just with some few tweaks here and there.
Happy Easter Celebration.
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