Book Review: Why Christmas? & Why Easter?

Two of the biggest holidays are Christmas and Easter. Families come together to catch up and spend time with one another. A lot of preparation can go into it and the true meaning can get lost in it all. Moreover, in these families it is important to observe whether parents are teaching their children what these holidays are all about. So we must ask the questions, “Why Christmas?” and “Why Easter?” Barbara Reaoch has brought up this very question and has written two books to equip parents in providing the answer.

Why Christmas? and Why Easter?  are not children’s books that claim to be Christian but teach mere moralism; they are books that point to the gospel. These two resources are set up in a devotional format (25 days for Christmas and 28 days for Easter). Each day calls for prayer, Bible reading and memorization, a listening and discussion time, a truth from the text about God, and a time of singing praises back to God. Two aspects of this layout I truly appreciate: the priority of Bible reading and the emphasis on Bible memorization. Reaoch says one can tweak the amount of Bible reading based on the children’s attention span but she says it is an essential part. In other words, she is relaying to the parent the importance of pointing back to Scripture to see the truth of God. Secondly, her emphasis on Bible memorization can be commended. I especially was thrilled to see her method was for memorizing a verse a day so that in a week the child/family will have memorized an entire passage.

I would like to comment on the actual Bible passages used in each of these devotionals. Why Christmas? refreshingly provides a decent mixture of Old Testament passages and New Testament passages. That is important because the promise of Christ is seen in the Old Testament. On the other hand, Why Easter? focuses entirely on New Testament passages leading up to the holiday. I do wish there were at least some days devoted to the promise of Easter from the Old Testament. Still, the resource provides great truths about Jesus and explicitly speaks of the gospel. Why Christmas? and Why Easter?, then, will equip parents to point their children to the purpose of these holidays as they are found in Christ. I gladly recommend them!

I received this book for free from Shepherd Press via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and are my honest review of the book.