My Family's Triduum and Easter Traditions

Lectio Divina Out Loud: Erika Dix shares how her family observes the Holy Triduum and Easter each year.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2) 

Celebrating Holy Week as a family throughout the years has been a wonderful experience, from when my kids were little until now, when they are young adults. As parents, we have worked throughout their lives to raise them with faith and to not disregard the days of Holy Week, but to make them truly holy. No matter what we did, Holy Week was special and set aside to reconnect with our faith and family. We kept the Scripture verse from Colossians in our minds and in our hearts. We worked hard to always bring our thoughts back to Jesus.  

Being Humble 

Our first day of celebrating would be Holy Thursday, when we would attend Mass. When the kids were little, our parish would ask anyone from the congregation to come up to have their feet washed. My kids would be the first in line, dragging their parents, because they were so excited to wash our feet, and for us to wash theirs. I am sure for them it was fun to “wash” feet in public, but I loved the humility of the action, and to show them how all people can act humbly. During the pandemic, the kids still insisted on washing each other’s feet at home on Holy Thursday. This act of sharing what Jesus did for His friends had become important enough to them, showing me they were not just going through the motions. With all of our actions, we are always bringing our thoughts back to Jesus.  

Being Reverent 

Our Good Friday observance has changed throughout the years as well, but one thing we have tried to maintain is pausing at 3 PM to read the Passion account in the Bible. The kids have been blessed to have the day off from school, and my husband would pause work and come downstairs for 15 minutes (he works from home). We turn off all the lights in the house and close the blinds on the windows to make it as dark as we can.

Even when they were young, the kids knew this was a reverent time. And even though they had the day off, we would try to keep it quiet all day long, to make it respectful for what Jesus had sacrificed on this day. In using our time, we are always bringing our thoughts back to Jesus.  

Being Prepared 

Holy Saturday has always been a special day for my family. For us, the Easter season does not begin until Easter Sunday, so we do not put up any Easter decorations until Holy Saturday. Since there is a lot to be done, we generally put them up during the day instead of waiting for the vigil, but we especially want to wait until after Good Friday. There are plenty of bunnies, chicks, and eggs to bring new spring life to our home, as well as lilies and other spring flowers.

We work on decorating our eggs, making them so colorful with designs drawn on them with crayon. We listen to our favorite music from the Jesus Christ Superstar movie soundtrack and belt out the lyrics. I start meal preparation for our extended family who is coming the next day, and we come up with a fun dessert to serve. It is a day of preparation and anticipation, one of coming together to get ready for the biggest holy day of all. Within our excitement, we are always bringing our thoughts back to Jesus.  

Being Joyful 

Easter Sunday! So much rejoicing, for the day is here! The kids knew that the plastic eggs containing jelly beans or Goldfish (we had to keep it a little healthy and not bomb out on sugar too fast!), would have to wait until after we returned from Mass. We get dressed up in our Easter Sunday best, and head to our church. The Easter decorations abound and really lift up our spirits as we celebrate our Lord being lifted up from the dead. My family sings in the choir now that the kids are older, so it adds even more to the celebration to lift our voices as well. 

When we are done with Mass and after family photos at the altar, we return home to start the egg hunt. One of the eggs would contain the first clue to a massive scavenger hunt for their Easter baskets. The “Easter Bunny” (aka my husband) would create elaborate clues, and the kids would have to use their bibles to solve them. All the clues were puzzles to be solved together and used Scripture verses to describe locations around our house. It took them hours to solve sometimes. Even though the baskets were filled with goodies and sweets, the journey to them was filled with God’s word, and always brought the kids back to Jesus.   

In the verse from Colossians, we are reminded that in being raised with faith, we look for Jesus above, next to the right hand of God. "Above" could mean not looking at what the world is showing us during this holiday season. Instead, seek to have our minds and hearts on Jesus. Focus on Him during these days of humility, reverence, preparation, and rejoicing, and no matter what, always bring our thoughts back to Jesus.  

Prayer:

Jesus, we appreciate all that you did for us during this most holy of weeks. Please help us to continue to seek you and keep our thoughts on you in our everyday lives as well.  

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Copyright 2025 Erika Dix
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