First UU Easter Tree Tradition

Our Annual Easter Tree Tradition Lives On ~ This year the children at First UU made lovely new decorations for the Easter tree, continuing an important church tradition. Our annual Easter tree tradition began on Easter Sunday in 1994. That particular Sunday was also the first Sunday that we held a church service in our newly built church. A huge branch filled with blossoms had snapped off during a storm and was brought into the sanctuary. Those children present delighted in decorating this branch in celebration of a new beginning.

The congregation was in awe of this colorful Easter tree. The Easter tree provided a welcome sight in the unfinished sanctuary with its bare cement floors, unpainted walls, and only folding chairs brought from home. The children who decorated that first Easter tree 19 years ago are now adults who still fondly remember their role in helping to create a beautiful sanctuary on the very first Sunday in our new church home.

Over the years, the Easter decorating tradition continues. About a week or two ahead of Easter, Bob Rittle brings branches inside from trees at the church that are now mature and need pruning. The branches are secured in a large bucket of water with bricks, so that the buds will begin to open by Easter. Church members also bring in egg-type decorations from their travels to represent our connections to all areas of the world. Even very young children love seeing the tree in the sanctuary near Easter, and hanging their hand-made ornaments on it and those made by Sunday school children over the years. The Easter tree stays up for at least a week so it is present the next Sunday when the tree buds are more fully in bloom. As Easter approaches each year, many First UU children ask if they will be decorating another Easter tree, and they are always delighted to know that this tradition lives on.