JThroughout this period of the Great Fast, we have explored the many traditional spiritual themes that our Holy Mother Church has put into place in order for us to prepare ourselves to endure the intensity of Holy Week. The Children in my house have been broken of their sugar habits, have sharpened their prayer lives and are REALLY longing for the celebration that Paskha will surely bring. This weekend we will give them a taste of that celebration as we acknowledge the joyful events that will, ironically, lead up to the sorowful passion and death of Our Lord Jesus.
On Saturday morning it will surely rain; it always does. After all, creation is mourning the death of our friend Lazarus of Bethany. The sun will come out in the afternoon, though, it always does, after Jesus has raised him from the dead. This is a good morning to bake bread. Lets make up a simple batch of our favorite bread dough and make some treats for after the sun sets tonight. Perhaps there will be some left over for after Liturgy in the morning too!
After our dough has risen and doubled, as it usually does, roll it out and use a gingerbread-man cookie cutter to make little Lazarus.
Give him two raisin eyes, then place him (and his clones) on a greased cookie sheet and cover him with a white cloth...poor fellow. Time to mourn the death of Lazarus.
While he's laid out (in a warm place) you can read the children the bible story, so they know exactly what has happened to Jesus best friend.
Now it's time to discuss the story. How would you feel if you were standing in the cemetery and had just seen someone call out a man who was buried there for four days? What would you do? No wonder they wanted to make him a king! What power! What influence! They all shouted and waved and welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem as a triumphant king! All but the pharisees...THEY wanted the influence! THEY had the power! And to them, Jesus got in their way. Children understand jealousy. The pieces will all fall into place for them.
After the story, you can place our poor friend Lazarus in the tomb...I mean, the oven...and bake for about 12-15 minutes or so, just until he's risen! (and slightly golden brown!). When the timer goes off and he's done, the children may imitate Our Lord and shout, "Lazarus! Come forth!" before you open the oven door....they always love to do that.
When he's completely cooled, you can mix up some powdered sugar, a dash of vanilla or almond flavoring, and enough water to make a thick glaze, and put it into a plastic bag. Cut the tip off the bag and then you can pipe on his winding sheet, making sure not to cover his eyes! Yes, Lazarus Buns have become a favorite treat in our family!
While we are at it and the dough is made and the oven is hot, you may choose to make up some palm branches to wave at the Sunday morning breakfast table. We need willows, you say? Oh yes! We'll make them too! Patience! :)
Now, using the scraps from when we cut out our Lazarus buns, re-roll the dough and cut out some football shapes.
Cut slits along both sides and fan them out so they resemble palm branches.
These rest for about 15-20 minutes as well, before they're baked and can be glazed with the same icing, but tinted green.
Now, for the pussy willows! These are my daughters' favorite treat, because they involve chocolate, of course. We would make them on Lazarus Saturday each year and bring a whole basket of them to share after Divine Liturgy and before ECF.
First, melt some chocolate (chips, discs, etc.) in the microwave until melted and smooth and pour it into a tall glass jar.
Dip some large pretzel rods into the chocolate and then adorn it with some mini-marshmallow "catkins"! Place on a baking sheet to harden.
After the long Fast, these treats are well received and will be a well remembered family tradition, no doubt!
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