easter at home: Make an Easter Tree

Eggs and chickens are often seen at Easter - but what about trees, what might they represent to us at this time? Traditionally trees have been symbols of faith, wisdom, transformation and liberation. Do you know that the image of the tree is used repeatedly throughout the bible; Jesus dies on a tree - a cross made from the wood of a tree - just as it was said in the Old Testament. And like Jesus, trees give life - they provide safety, shelter, sustenance and substance. In the natural world trees have sophisticated root systems that keep the ground stable and nourish many creatures and fungi. Their leaves produce oxygen so that we can breathe and even their sap or resin can be used to make medicine and other useful things... 

Try making an “Easter Tree” as a decoration in your homes to remind us of the life-giving power of trees and the way our own faith can start small and grow and grow.

 You will need:
- a small pot, jug, vase
- sad or gravel or small stones
- a full branch - gum tree branches work well, so do olives or laurel branches!
- scissors, ribbon or sticky tape
​-decorations such as blown eggs (see method below)

Support the branch in the pot or vase using sand or stones to keep it in place. You will want to show in a prominent place in you house like the living room or even the kitchen table. 

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 Blown Easter eggs 

Blown eggs are eggs that have had the gooey insides “blown” out of them. They are then carefully dyed, painted or drawn on with markers. You could even glue stickers or coloured paper on them. They are extremely light-weight when blown and make beautiful decorations to hang on your Easter Tree. Please supervise children while they use the safety pin!

You will need
- Fresh eggs
- A safety pin
-Toothpick
- Plastic straw
- A bowl

Method:
Sit an egg in it’s egg carton or a egg cup to steady it. Next tap a push a hole into the top centre of the egg with your safety pin. Once you have made the hole, carefully push the end of the pin down to widen the hole. Insert the toothpick into the hole and turn it around inside the egg to break up the yolk and make it easier to blow. Flip the egg over and make a second hole on the opposite side with your pin. Try to make the hole on the bottom a little bit bigger - but be careful not to crack the egg as you go!

Hold the egg over a measuring jug or bowl with the bigger hole facing down. Gently guide the end of your straw into the top of the egg (or you can just use your lips!) and blow - runny egg should begin to come out of the bottom hole. It can take a minute to get going - so be patient. You’ll know it’s all out when the egg feels like and only bubbles of air come out. You can wash it carefully in some water water and then let it dry. Decorate it with whatever you like: pens, paint, dye, glue and tissue paper, stickers! 

We drew on our eggs with crayon before sinking them into jars of dye + water. Once dry, we painted them with a thin coat of craft glue, then we attached a piece of string to the top of each so we could hang them on our tree...