How Can I Make Easter Meaningful as a Young Single Adult?

By Jessica Anne Lawrence

Church Magazines

As a single adult, I stopped celebrating Easter because I felt like it was a holiday only for families.

When I was growing up, I loved Easter. This day involved Easter egg hunts and getting baskets of chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks.

But as I got older, instead of getting excited for Easter, I saw it as another lonely holiday to avoid. At age 30, I am still unmarried and have no children. And for the longest time, I felt like Easter wasn’t a holiday I could celebrate as a single woman.

How do you have an Easter egg hunt by yourself?

It wasn’t until the April 2023 general conference that I learned that Easter was a holiday I could—and should— be celebrating, regardless of my marital status.

A Renewed Perspective

Quoting N. T. Wright, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”¹

I realized then that I was doing the Savior a great disservice by limiting Easter celebrations to bunnies and Easter egg hunts. I needed to rethink my Easter traditions to include Him as the central figure for why I even celebrate the holiday—and I realized that they would be even more meaningful than my childhood traditions.

Changing Who and What I Celebrate

When we focus on the secular ways of celebrating Easter—with plastic eggs and chocolate—it can be easy to feel that there isn’t a way to celebrate as a single adult or as a married adult without children.

But when we focus on what Easter really represents—Jesus Christ’s triumph over sin and death—then we can come to realize that there are so many ways to make this day special.

With my changed perspective, I decided I wanted my Easter to celebrate Jesus Christ and all that He has done for me.

And surprisingly, with this new focus, finding new traditions was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Culturally, there are only a handful of traditions to choose from when celebrating a secular Easter, but when celebrating Jesus Christ, there are so many more possibilities!

First, I bought new decorations that reminded me of Jesus Christ and springtime. One was a plant called a peace lily, which served as a reminder of Jesus Christ’s peace when I looked at it in my apartment (see John 14:26–27).

Second, I planned to take a hike a few days before Easter. I decided that this hike would be a focused time for me to disconnect from media and the busyness of the world and take time to think about Christ.

Third, I took President Russell M. Nelson’s challenge to read 3 Nephi 11—when Christ visits the Americas.²

When I read the first seventeen verses, like Elder Stevenson had with his family, I felt a similar appreciation for the wonderful Easter message the Book of Mormon holds. “In reality,” he declares, “the Book of Mormon shares the greatest Easter story ever told. Let it not be the greatest Easter story never told.”³

And finally, I attended sacrament meeting and focused fully on the Savior and what His atoning sacrifice means for me as I renew my covenants.

This made all the difference in feeling gratitude for Jesus Christ on this beautiful holiday and in feeling like I had a place as a single adult.

Shifting My Focus

Changing my perspective on celebrating Easter helped me also shift my focus around other holidays. Because holiday celebrations are so often centered on family, sometimes it can make it hard to know how to make celebrations meaningful as a single adult.

But Elder Stevenson helped me realize that there is a way for me to participate not just in the miracle of Easter but in every holiday. I just need to change my focus.

So now, instead of getting wrapped up in Santa Claus during Christmastime and the Easter bunny in the spring, I get wrapped up in Christ! I look forward to holidays with a new excitement because I’ve realized that they can bring me joy and remind me of what matters most.

When holidays come, instead of becoming lonely and discouraged, I can connect with loved ones and friends. I can try to focus on Jesus Christ—the true reason for our holiday seasons. And with Him, I can find sweet fulfillment and excitement in celebrating Him as my Savior.

Notes