I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and ample occasion for reflection, prayer, and of course time spent with family and good food.

How do Amish spend Easter? Dyed Easter EggsThe ways Amish in 500+ settlements across North America observe religious days can vary (see our post on Ascension Day for one example).

In her latest column, Lovina Eicher of the Amish Kitchen column gives us a look at how her family and community celebrate the Easter season:

Good Friday we traditionally keep as a holiday, so no one in our family will go to work or school. The Amish churches in this community have “Fast” (no eating) and prayer until noon. Our family will all be here and have family time. Then we’ll gather here for the noon meal.

On Easter Sunday we will go to church. Easter is the time to rejoice and be thankful for the gift of life Jesus gave for someone like you and me.

The younger children still enjoy coloring eggs for Easter. As I was growing up we always colored eggs. The bright colored eggs always remind me of the colors of the rainbow. Our parents taught us the true meaning of Easter. May we all remember the true meaning of Easter.

Read Lovina’s column in full here.

Easter Monday is also observed in some, but not all Amish communities, as a family visiting day.

Other cultures and countries have their own Easter Monday observances, including in central Europe and Australia. In the US, children have the day off from school in North Dakota, while it was once a public holiday, for over half a century (ending 1987), in North Carolina.

Besides Easter Monday, Amish also observe a number of lesser-known religious holidays, such as St. Michael’s Day and Pentecost Monday, which you can read more about here.

Image credit: 28661972@N05/flickr

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