The First Christmas (Step Inside) Book

This seemed much cuter when I saw the cover in my library's catalog and looked it up on here. The illustrations are that style I don't like, really simple and childlike with patchy splashes of watercolors.

The writing is also really simple, with short sentences that don't convey much. Like saying "Easter Sunday is in the spring." When in the spring? That's really vague. She also wrote that Jesus was born many years ago. I don't think so. You need to specify that was thousands of years ago because this wording makes it sound recent. I knew then how inadequate this teaching would be.

She said he started preaching and teaching and performing miracles but didn't give any examples of those things.

She skipped so much and told it in a stop and start kind of way, in short little bursts. He went to Jerusalem for Passover and people put branches on the ground for the donkey to walk over and blessed him as the King of Israel. At the Last Supper He announced to his 12 disciples that one would betray him and He would die. They ate and that was that. It felt so incomplete.

This didn't sugarcoat that people wanted Jesus to die and they shouted for Him to be crucified. Obviously this had to be delicate about it. It didn't show any blood, or Jesus actually on the cross. It showed his body wrapped in a sheet, being carried away after, and she said he was nailed to a cross.

She talked about His body being placed in a tomb and a big stone blocking the entrance. 3 days later the stone was moved and His followers remembered that He had said He would rise from the dead. Over the next 40 days He appeared several times to His followers. Then He went to heaven.

So Easter is about His death and rising from death. Candles are lit to remind people that light comes after darkness. I'm not familiar with that custom at all and wondered if this is an outdated, old thing that people used to do, or if a particular branch of Christianity practices it.

Easter came from the word Eostre which is the goddess of spring. What goddess Idk, she didn't even mention the culture! Come on, you can't do that!

Eggs are a symbol of new life. It was a custom for thousands of years for eggs to be given as gifts at spring festivals. I had been wondering recently why eggs are dyed for Easter, so I'm glad that was explained.

She mentioned dying eggs and having Easter egg hunts. The White House has an egg rolling contest. She said many kids believe the Easter bunny brings them their eggs. It started as a legend "many years ago" which I'm assuming means at least hundreds of years. A woman dyed eggs for her kids at Easter and hid them in a nest, and when the kids found them a rabbit hopped away and they thought the rabbit had brought the eggs and that's how the story spread. That was odd to me because kids don't receive eggs for Easter. They get candy and things.

Another custom is for people to buy new clothes and wear hats. It's not only a religious holiday, it's a time of hope and joy.

I really liked the inclusion of Easy holy days, because I don't know much about Easter dates.

"Lent is the 40 days before Easter Sunday. It reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent praying in the wilderness before He went out to preach His message. For some, Lent is a time for prayer and sacrifice.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. In church, some Christians have a cross marked on their foreheads with ashes. It symbolizes their mortality.

Holy Week is the last week of Lent.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. It reminds us of the ride Jesus took on a donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches.

Holy Thursday is celebrated in memory of the Last Supper, Jesus' last meal with His disciples.

Good Friday is in memory of Jesus dying on the cross. His death is called the Crucifixion.

Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus rising from death. His rising is called the Resurrection. The palms in the churches stand for peace, and the Easter lilies are symbols of new life and hope."

I didn't like the illustrations or the writing and what the author chose to talk about and how she said it. The best part about the book is the dates, because I had been wondering about them and wanted to know on what days the religious events happened. That's good to know and was the most valuable info the book had to offer. The rest was simple and generalized and didn't go into detail about anything--at all. So this would be a starter book for kids just coming to terms with religion and the events of Easter.