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What Should Christian Parents Do About the Easter Bunny? w/ VALERIE FENTRESS · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Today we have Valerie Fentris on the show.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Valerie is an award-winning children's author and host of the Bookworthy podcast.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: She writes simple stories with biblical truth to remind children who God is and who God says they are.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: And she's here today to shed some light on the Easter Bunny, offering sound advice to Christian parents.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Valerie, welcome back to the show.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Karen.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad to be here this today.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's great to have you on again.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: So let's just begin with the history of the Easter Bunny.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the Easter Bunny is a very interesting character because uh when my youngest, or when my oldest was about two, is we started noticing he was kind of catching on to traditions that we were starting to incorporate in our family.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And my husband and I kind of looked at each other and like, okay, what are we gonna do about the Easter bunny?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: We kind of knew what we were gonna do with Santa Claus, but what about the Easter Bunny?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up in a house where the Easter Bunny was a part of our traditions, and my husband grew up in a family that did not have the Easter Bunny.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we're like, okay, what are we gonna do?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it made us ask, what where did the Easter Bunny come from?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so we did.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: We looked into the history of the Easter bunny.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really interesting to look through just all kinds of cultural traditions that in European folklore that has, you know, rabbits as part of spring celebrations.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because when do rabbits tend to pop up the most?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: On my dog walks in the morning, it's definitely spring.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so rabbits just have become this symbol of spring and kind of slowly became into the Easter traditions as well.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And this actually comes from the a German tradition called Osterhaus.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a really sweet little story about a poor mother, sometimes a widow, that wanted to bring joy to her children during a harsh season.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so she dyed some eggs in bright colors and hid them in the garden for her children to find.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like the sweet mom that we all want to just bring happiness to our kids.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, when the children ran outside and discovered the eggs, they also spotted a rabbit hopping away.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: So naturally, the children assumed that the rabbit had brought the eggs.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was kind of the start of the Easter Bunny tradition or Osterhaus tradition.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of by the 1500s, 1600s, Osterhaus started to appear in uh German writings as a creature who delivered eggs, and in some traditions, judged children's behavior a bit like a springtime counterpart to St.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Nicholas.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then as German immigrants moved over to the US in the 1700s, it started to evolve into the modern Easter bunny.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because if Americans are good at anything, it's taking a tradition and commercializing it and making it huge.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, making money off of it.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Making money off of it, most definitely.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the Easter bunny itself is definitely a cultural symbol and not a theological one.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that kind of led me to is there a way that the Easter bunny could communicate the gospel?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this question just rolled around in my head as we had my young, my it's hard to believe that my son was two when this is happening, and he's currently 17.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm trying not to go down that rabbit hole.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: They do.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: But it was just one of those questions like, how could the Easter bunny be used to communicate the gospel?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I just started looking at other symbols that are so prevalent in our Christian tradition.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the rainbow is, you know, the source of God's prom, you know, a reminder of God's promises, you know, the Passover lamb, you know, bread and wine, baptism, and then even looking into the symbols of the Christmas tree, which was a pagan symbol, a pagan tradition that missionaries turned into a Christian symbol to redefine those symbols to be something that communicated a deeper truth.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And even Jesus did this so well in all his parables.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: He took things that were common and understood to communicate deep truths.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so symbols allow kids to think a little bit more concretely, to remember stories and images better.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it also helps children internalize spiritual truths, which is a lot why Jesus used a lot of symbols in his parables and his teachings and all throughout the Bible.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so when culture hands us or hands our kids symbols like the Easter Bunny, we as Christians we can either let culture define them or we can reclaim them with gospel meaning.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I did with my book, An Easter Bunny's Tale.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: I took the Easter Bunny that is on every shelf, on every, you know, painted on every window, and it's all over the place.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to communicate the gospel through this rabbit that my kids were seeing everywhere.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of had to do some symbolic reframing.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: I had to take this Easter bunny and think about, okay, what were the qualities of this bunny that are good?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't want my son to be like, yay, the Easter bunny is gonna bring me chocolate.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, well, chocolate is sweet, but what is sweet?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel is sweet.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's the good news.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how can we reframe these cultural things that our kids are gonna run into, whether your kids are in homeschool or public school or preschool?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna come across these symbols and these ideas.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I did with the Easter Bunny was I thought about okay, an Easter bunny is quiet, it's not a very noisy animal.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how could that relate to communicating the gospel?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it means I need to be ready to listen.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And what are um bunnies in order to listen, you have to be quiet.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then bunnies are known for having big ears, right?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So a bunny has to have ears that are listening to those around them that are ready to hear the good news.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, okay, what else do we know about a bunny?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a bunny is soft, you know.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: There is a lot in our culture where um Christianity is coming off very forceful and harsh, and um that could be a very big barrier for people that don't have a faith.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And even for kids who, because I my sweet oldest son, he has a very big conviction for the Lord, which is amazing.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: But he does approach with a very warrior-like mentality, he has a lot of zeal, right?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I have my oldest daughter is that way.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: But to remind my son that no, we need to approach this softly and gently.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: We have to be able to be welcoming.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Our actions and our words need to ask make people ask us questions, make us want to lean in a little closer.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because who doesn't want to just snuggle up with a bunny?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's just sweet and fun.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's kind of what I did is I took these elements of a rabbit and was like, okay, how can I communicate and help kids see how they can be communicators of the gospel?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So the bunny in the book kind of follows the Easter events from the Garden of Gethsemane to Easter morning, and he recognizes Jesus because in my brain, animals seem to know a little bit more about spirituality than us humans do sometimes.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think they catch on easier, they understand.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: I in my experience with animals, there's just a sweet spiritual connection that animals have.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so this bunny recognizes Jesus as his creator.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, this is God.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Why are they, why are they yelling at him?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Why are they arresting him?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Why are these things happening?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So he continues to follow after this, you know, creator that he wants to be near, and he watches the Easter events, but then he gets trapped in the tomb with Jesus after the crucifixion, and he kind of gets to sit there for three days and be like, what was this all about, Lord?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then Sunday morning comes, Jesus awakes and he gives the Easter bunny a mission to listen for the opportunity to share the good news, to use their fast feet to spread the gospel everywhere, and to have a heart that wants to transform the world with the good news of the gospel.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just one of those reframing these elements that our kids are going to come across.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to have to deal with, they're going to have to ask those hard questions, but to take the time to read this story and to ask those probing questions.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Why do we celebrate Easter?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And what does new life mean?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, all these phrases that tend to happen around Easter.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then also just, you know, finding ways of incorporating our faith in our family traditions, whether that's with the resurrection eggs, which I must say is the cutest thing to watch a two-year-old go through those eggs and just be so excited about the final egg being empty.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, who would have thought an empty egg would be exciting?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's usually in our Easter egg hunts, there's always a handful of empty eggs.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just funny to watch the kids open it and be like, why is this empty?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it empty?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is the greatest gift ever.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's fun to take these elements of you know what culture has placed in front of us in bright colors and just reframing them to have a gospel message.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because the goal isn't to make the bunny sacred, to make it holy or perfect, but to make sure Jesus stays central in our Easter messages.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that's in scripture rhythms that we create in our home, with you know, reading the resurrection story during Holy Week and using age-appropriate devotionals and picture books or resurrection gardens and crosscrafts.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Pinterest is full of overwhelming ideas on how to celebrate Easter.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: But you as a Christian parent, you get to choose how your family is going to keep Jesus at the center.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to do all the things on Pinterest or in Target, but we just need to be reminded and remind our kids what Easter is about.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if a bunny can do that, that's great.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if a bunny can't do that for your kids, that's okay too.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, it's always great to have those connection conversations that you know ask kids what Easter means to them, you know, talk about why Jesus' resurrection matters, and setting healthy healthy boundaries for cultural traditions.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, candy is fine, but not the center.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the bunny can be fun, but he's not the hero.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we as Christian parents, we set the tone for the culture of Easter in our home, not Target or Pinterest or social media.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so it becomes a allows, you know, books like an Easter Bunny's Tale to communicate just in gentle, imaginative ways to keep Jesus at the center and to encourage parents to choose stories that reinforce truth and not distract kids from the truth of the good news of Jesus coming back from the dead and dying for their sins and uh just giving us that hope we have in eternity.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um Karen, if your listeners are looking for maybe a simple devotional or reading plan for their family as they're we're getting up to Easter, I do have a link that I'll give you for you to put in the show notes.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of a you can do a seven-day reading plan if you're ambitious, or I even have just a three-day reading plan just to keep small little uh moments with your family to focus on that uh immediate focus of Easter to keep us just grounded in Jesus being the hero of our Easter story.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important just to uh know that you know, we as Christian parents, we get don't have to choose between fun and faith.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we can disciple our children through both of those things.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because I mean our kids want to have fun and they want to be a part of whatever's going, whether that's Easter egg on their school or going and sitting on the Easter bunny's lap, those types of things.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: But we can take those moments and we don't have to bring shame and guilt into our children's desire to be near an Easter bunny, but we can use it to cultivate wonder in our children as well as remembering the goal that anything we do as Christian parents is meant to communicate the gospel in love.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this sounds like it's gonna be a powerful resource for families right around Easter time.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: So uh tell us the name of your book again and the best place to find it.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my book is called An Easter Bunny's Tale, kind of T-A-L-E.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: I like I like puns, so sorry.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you can find that uh pretty much anywhere you uh buy books online, Amazon, uh, and uh Barnes and Noble.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you can also find those links at my website at valeriefentrest.com and have all kinds of resources there as well to Easter crafts and even the book comes with a coloring book and activity book that you can enjoy as a family and all those fun things.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's wonderful.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because this sounds like an amazing book, and I love what you're doing.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you're taking something that does try to distract from the true true meaning of Easter, and you're pulling it in to again point to Jesus, and I think that's so important and in a fun way, too.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you, Valerie, for being here and sharing about your book and just giving parents some ideas, you know, of what they can do to keep the main thing, the main thing in Easter.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so I encourage you parents, um, check out the show notes for links to Valerie's website, to her um Easter resources, that craft kit, that Easter activity book, and to her book.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I I think that's just awesome.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: So, Valerie, thanks again for being here.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And listeners, thank you for joining us.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, be sure to come back next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Until then, have a blessed week.