A Green Easter

Easter is a special holiday no matter how you celebrate. Christian or not, Easter is a sign of spring and new life. When we celebrate the spirit of earth , its creatures and what it grows, why not be kind to the earth in return? After all, it is Earth Month! If you put just a small thought into how you and your family celebrate, it is really quite easy to have an Eco-Friendly Easter. If nothing else...AT LEAST don't buy that awful plastic grass! Its annoying anyway!

One easy way to green up your Easter, pay attention to PACKAGING. Try to buy candy and gifts in with the least amount of packaging. Look for recyclable packaging. Buy in bulk. Stay away from bulk that has individually wrapped items.

Forget buying an Easter basket. Don't you end up throwing them away anyway? You might try to keep it, but in a few months when you find it shoved in your closet you just heave it. Why not make your own basket or container. Get creative! Make a craft as a family. Learn why the basket became a tradition and make a nest instead!

Use NATURAL DYE for coloring eggs! Its not that hard! See ways to color below...

Take a hint from a few Christian groups who are bring a special meaning to a GREEN Easter:
Courtesy of: Associated Press

Palm Sunday goes greener with fair-trade fronds
By MATT REED
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Christian churches are turning over a new leaf for Palm Sunday.
About 2,500 congregations nationwide will use fair-trade palm fronds at services this weekend.
The University of Minnesota's Eco-Palms program ensures the leaves were harvested in Central America in an environmentally sensitive way.
Organizers say orders came for well over a half-million fronds this year -- a big jump from 5,000 ordered four years ago.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, accepted about 300 fronds this week. Administrator Laura Hudson says God created Earth and it's everyone's duty to preserve it.
The holiday marks when Jesus is said to have arrived in Jerusalem before crucifixion, with followers paving his way with palm fronds.



Dying eggs is a fun family tradition. So do it Earth Friendly! And no. Not all of your eggs have to end up green. Forget Kits that contain dyes made from chemicals, dye eggs with natural ingredients.

Sources:
Make your Easter Eco Friendly (http://greenliving.suite101.com/article.cfm/make_your_easter_ecofriendly)
Eco-Friendly Easter (http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2008/03/06/eco-friendly-easter/)

HOW TO: Put raw, white-shelled eggs in a pan and cover with water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Add your coloring agent and bring to a boil and then let the eggs simmer for 15 minutes. Rinse and allow to cool.

OR:

You can also hard boil them first and then fill glass jars/bowls with water and the coloring agent-put the jars in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and then stir. Just allow the eggs to sit in the jars overnight.


* Purple or lavender: Purple grape juice or red wine
* Blue: Red cabbage leaves or blueberries
* Green: Spinach
* Yellow: saffron, tumeric, carrot tops, orange peels or lemon peels
* Brown: Coffee, black walnut shells, rosehip tea, or coffee.
* Yellow onion skins (for orange)
* Red or Pink: Beets, cranberries or cranberry juice or raspberries



Have a safe and Happy Easter!