As chocolate eggs and bunnies begin appearing in the stores, we know that Easter is upon us. With all its symbols - from chocolate bunnies and eggs to the more religious symbols of the cross and resurrection - Easter is Canada's main spring festival.
Libraries have a variety of books and DVDs for both children and adults to help us learn about and enjoy whatever part of Easter we wish to celebrate.
Easter began as a Christian festival and, over the centuries, Easter celebrations have gathered traditions from around the world, some of which actually predate Christianity. For a basic overview you can't do better than some of the beautiful children's books available today.
An older but still excellent children's book, Lilies, Rabbits and Painted Eggs: The Story of the Easter Symbols by Edna Barth, documents the history of these many symbols in easily readable short chapters.
National Geographic's Celebrate Easter with Colored Eggs, Flowers and Prayer by Deborah Heiligman gives an excellent overview of the Easter beliefs and religious traditions as well as holiday festivities such as Easter eggs, parades, and food.
A book simply called Easter, from the Canadian Holidays series, tells of the beginnings of Easter and how Canadians celebrate Easter both in the past and today. Pages on Easter symbols and traditions, some information on how the holiday is celebrated in different parts of the country, craft ideas and an Easter quiz finish off the book.
For children and adults, there are books about Easter crafts, food and decorations. Easter, A Celebration: Beautiful Ideas for Springtime Festivities, put out by Lorenz Books, is an Easter gem. Illustrated with charming colour photographs, the book includes spring flower arrangements, natural decorations using flowers, leaves, twigs and moss, several methods of egg decorating and some mouth-watering recipes.
A beautiful book for sharing with children is Ukrainian Egg Decoration: A Holiday Tradition by Ann Stalcup. In this book, the author describes "pysanky," the folk art of decorating eggs that has been practised for centuries by Ukrainian women.
For more ideas, you may want to hunt through the general holiday books for an Easter chapter. Bon Appetit: Holidays has 10 pages jam-packed with recipes for Easter meals, including what to do with the leftovers. Celebrate!: Holiday Crafts Throughout the Year published by America's No. 1 Crafts Magazine, has an excellent section of craft ideas for the Easter season.
For those who would like to explore the religious aspect of Easter with their children, The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the Biblical story. Punctuated with interested questions from his son, a father tells the boy the story of Jesus' death and resurrection in a language the child can understand.
Easter: A Pictorial Pilgrimage illustrates the Biblical account with famous paintings and photographs of the relevant places in modern times.
If you are interested in delving more into the Christian theology of Easter, you could also have a look at What Christians Believe by David Craig or Basic Christianity by John Stott.
For your viewing pleasure, local libraries also offer DVDs.
The National Geographic documentaryIn Search of Easter explores the diverse accounts of the Resurrection.
Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ, offers a graphic depiction of the last days of Jesus' life.
On the secular side, young children will enjoy the antics of Max and Ruby, as portrayed in the animated stories, Easter with Max & Ruby. And for just plain light-hearted viewing, why not pick the classic Irving Berlin movie Easter Parade, starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, which has little to do with Easter beyond the title but is good, old-fashioned musical entertainment.
Libraries have many more great titles about Easter and its traditions. Come by and let us help you find that perfect book or DVD.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published every Wednesday. Barbara Buxton is head of adult services at Port Moody Public Library.
