Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the oldest Christian tradition and the most important date in the Christian calendar. Easter marks the end of the 40 days of Lent. The week before Easter is known as Holy Week, beginning on Palm Sunday and including Maundy Thursday (the day of the Last Supper), Good Friday (the day of Christ’s crucifixion) and Holy Saturday.Eggs are associated with Easter because eggs were forbidden during Lent. Any remaining eggs would be used up on the day before Lent, Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day. Eggs gathered during Lent would then be eaten at Easter. Eggs are a symbol of fertility and rebirth, linking them with springtime and with the celebration of the resurrection.Here in Little Melton we have traditionally held an Easter Egg Hunt after our service on Easter Sunday.This year we have a joint service in Hethersett so we are having our Easter Hunt throughout Holy Week.The church will be open every day. When you visit you must find the ten Easter pictures around the church. Write down what you find and pop your list in the box provided.All entrants can collect their egg from the porch on Easter Sunday.
We were very pleased that our planned Christmas activities were able to go ahead before the December lockdown.Decorations Due to the restrictions, there was no art project this year so the village as individuals or groups were invited to decorate a window. The pre-school and nine families brought in wonderful decorations which were all in place by Sunday, 6th December. The Christmas tree, kindly donated by Norfolk trees, was splendidly decorated with the late Mary Kerslake’s knitted figures of the twelve days of Christmas. The lych gate and churchyard were decorated with the baubles from last Christmas by the Friends of Little Melton Church. It all looked splendid and gave an air of normality during very strange times. Decorated Pebbles With no church Christmas card this year and many people feeling unable to visit the church we brought our own Christmas message out of the building. On Sunday 20th December decorated pebbles were placed around the village for people to find and take home to add to their own decorations. They were all collected and favourable comments have been made on Facebook and in person. Crib SceneOur usual Crib Service could not take place due to the current Covid19 restrictions, so we invited the children of the village to take part in the Christmas story by helping to build the crib scene in a slightly different way. The church was open from 3pm to 4pm for families to visit. On arrival they chose a little pack containing a crib figure, the Christmas story, a candle, the words of “Away In A Manger” and a Christmas prayer. They then processed round the church to the crib where they placed their figure. They were then encouraged to light the candle at home, read the story, sing Away in a Manger and pray the Christmas prayer. The families who visited not only had to contend with Covid restrictions, they also had to brave the river which was Mill Road following heavy rainfall.
