My kids never met a holiday they didn’t like. For them, holidays involve some combination of vacation days from school, extra time with friends and special foods. Once, shortly after Easter, my kids ran up to me, asking, “When is the NEXT holiday?”
Our church calendar has a lot of holidays called festival days. How to celebrate festival days, outside of worship services, isn’t always obvious. Take Pentecost Sunday, for example. The Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles, who go out to share the news of Jesus, and soon, the Christian church takes root. For Pentecost, I’ve seen red flowers planted in the church yard and kids twirling dowel rods decorated with red ribbons during worship. Celebrating Pentecost at home can take a little creativity. One year, in my BC (before children) era, I hosted a Pentecost party at my apartment. Everyone brought a red food or drink. It was fun, even though half of my friends had never heard of Pentecost. Everyone loves a holiday party.
The seasons of Lent and Easter provide several festival days, but Easter gets the most attention—and commercialization. It makes sense that Good Friday hasn’t gone commercial, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth celebrating, even with children. The heart of Holy Week is the Pascal Triduum—the three days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Triduum means “three days” in Latin. It was formalized as a liturgical unit by Pope Pius XII in 1955, although Christians have been celebrating the three days since at least the 4th century. Catholic and mainline Protestant traditions often have separate worship services for each of the three days. Holy Saturday is typically celebrated as the Easter Vigil. Although services are held on separate days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday), they can be understood as a single, continuous liturgical event. Generally, words of dismissal are not spoken at the end of worship services on Thursday and Friday; the “end” comes either during Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday services.
Some congregations eliminate one or more of the triduum services and tell the whole Holy Week story on Palm Sunday. I like marking the three days with my children, even if we’re not at worship for all of them. Each day tells an important story about our life of faith, with themes children can understand. Done year after year, a triduum practice can become a family ritual. Rituals are crucial for children, helping to create memories and instill identity. Rituals provide comfort, stability, predictability and a sense of safety. Rituals, like other routines, are important for children, and can be as simple as brushing teeth, listening to bedtime stories or eating pizza on Fridays. When it comes to rituals, it’s not necessarily important what the ritual is; the magic is in the meaning it makes when you do it together.
Here are some ideas for at-home triduum practices with children:
Maundy Thursday: This is the first day of the triduum. In the gospel reading, Jesus gathers at the table with his friends as they share their last dinner together. After the meal, Jesus kneels at the feet of his friends and washes their feet. Foot washing is common at Maundy Thursday services. Other themes for worship may include the Passover meal, which Jesus and his friends were celebrating, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion). I have seen congregations focus on first communion at this service, including one where leaders set up tables and served a meal as part of worship. Home rituals with children could include baking bread or preparing and sharing a special meal together. Foot washing as a family is also meaningful. So is focusing on service, as Jesus did. Families can collect items for those in need, do another service project together, or read books about service.
Good Friday: This might be the hardest to commemorate with children. The setting for this day is the foot of the cross, an instrument of Roman torture and execution. There is blood, suffering and death. Good Friday worship services are often dimly lit and feature readings of Jesus’ last words. One congregation I know erected a giant wooden cross and invited people to physically pound nails into it. It was powerful for many but could be frightening for children. Home rituals might include reading the Holy Week story together, praying for places in the world where there is war and suffering, or making a cross out of nature materials, play dough or LEGO building bricks. Families might also take nature walks together or share screenfree time in remembrance of Jesus’ death. (One theological note: Children should not be led to believe that their “sinfulness” caused Jesus’ suffering and death. The focus should be on Jesus’ love for everyone and Jesus’ choice of loving, non-violent action.)
Holy Saturday: This day is about keeping vigil as we wait for Easter sunrise. Assigned readings for Easter Vigil include a series of Old Testament stories, such as Noah and the ark and the exodus from Egypt. Easter Vigil echoes how early Christians told stories about God’s saving work—in the dark, often around a fire— while waiting for Easter dawn. The Easter Vigil worship service may begin with a fire outside, then people processing with a candle into a dark sanctuary. Old Testament stories may be read or told. One congregation had middle school students act them out as skits (with props and costumes). Gradually, the amount of light in the sanctuary increases, until finally the Easter story is read and celebrated with light and joyful noise. Home rituals might also include lighting a fire or candles. During the COVID pandemic, my family started a tradition of having a bonfire on Holy Saturday and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. This year, I’d like to add Old Testament stories or charades. Other home practices could include decorating Easter eggs, planting seeds or crafting an empty tomb out of materials from around the house. Another fun idea is making resurrection rolls that rise on Sunday morning!
Whatever the rituals or celebrations, Holy Week is rich with meaning and purpose. The best rituals are not the ones that seek perfection or cost a lot of money. The best rituals are the ones you’ll do year after year — the ones that make these holy days into family holidays.
Lisa Smith is a writer and ELCA pastor who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her spouse and three children. Her blog “Bedtime Theology” is at pastorlisawrites.com.
This article appears in the March/April/May 2026 issue of Gather. To read more like it, subscribe to Gather.