Make Your Own Unleavened Bread Pinata

This simple DIY project will add some fun to your household during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread! While all of the Biblical holidays are spiritually significant times, they are also times of celebration and joy. Don't be afraid to do some things that are just for fun to commemorate these times of our Creator. Making this pinata can be a good activity during the week of Unleavened Bread, or do it ahead of time for decoration. Filled with candy, stickers, or small toys it would make a memorable highlight for a congregational or group celebration of Passover or Unleavened Bread.

What you need to make an Unleavened Bread pinata:

-a thin, square cardboard box (mine was about 33 inches square, and four inches thick, but feel free to make it smaller)
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-cream and brown crepe paper
-ribbon
-candy, stickers, toys or other small prizes

To make the pinata:

If you're filling it, carefully cut a small opening in a side or the top. It just needs to be large enough for you to put in your candy and prizes if you're doing that. Fill roughly halfway with goodies, then tape over the hole before proceeding.

Cut fringe into the bottom half of your crepe paper. Starting at the bottom of the box, hot glue strips of the crepe paper to the box. Mixing up the cream and brown paper is what makes this pinata resembled boxed matzo. Once the bottom is done, hot glue the next strip just above it so there is no box exposed between the two layers. Do this all the way to the top and then work on the sides and back. While this process is straightforward, it can get repetitive (especially if you are using a large box), so this is a great time to enlist help from your kids or be sure to put on some music or a teaching.

When you get to the top, hot glue a two-foot ribbon on both ends to the middle of the box. This is what you'll use to hang the pinata from, if you wish to hang up for decoration or for whacking down to get at the prizes. Consider the weight of the prizes and reinforce the ribbon with extra glue or tape if needed.

There you have it: a piece that's sure to get everyone smiling at your Unleavened Bread celebrations! This is easy to make, with inexpensive materials that aren't hard to find and are environmentally friendly. Even if you're not up for bashing in all of your hard work this is still a fun decoration or photo prop!

Related posts:
Celebrating the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread
Kids Crafts for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits
In Remembrance of the Messiah - Passover Pictures

Why The Biblical Holidays are for All Believers

"The Bible holidays are just for the Jews."

"God only gave those instructions to Jews."

"Oh so you're Jewish now?" 

Maybe phrases like these have kept you from celebrating the Biblical holidays. Many Bible believers have been lead to think that because they are not Jewish then certain commandments and celebrations don't apply to them. But this is not something that Scripture teaches! In this post we are going to talk about why the Biblical holidays are pertinent to all believers, regardless of their bloodline.

When the bulk of the instructions about the Creator's set apart times were given, it was leading up to and following the Israelites being freed from slavery and leaving Egypt. At that point, all twelve tribes were united under the name of Israel. All the tribes were present in Egypt, and then the wilderness. Therefore, the instructions were given to all the tribes. Not just the people of Judah.

Let's not miss that that there were people among them who were not natural born Israelites. Exodus 12:38 tells us that a "mixed multitude" went with them. This verse is smack in the middle of the details of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The instructions about the Biblical holidays (and other things) apply to anyone in YHWH's family.

"The same law applies to the native-born and to the foreigner among you." -Exodus 12:49

This passage of Scripture expressly tells us that Biblical law and YHWH's set apart times are applicable, even if we aren't 'native-born.' It's profound that the Bible makes this statement. Whether or not you think or can prove that Abraham and Sarah are your great-great-great-whatever grandparents, you are still expected to keep the Biblical feasts!

We should also be aware that the words Jew, Jewish, and Judaism really don't appear in the Old Testament, and certainly not in the first five books of Scripture where the instructions for the Biblical holidays are given. This is added clarity that YHWH did not intend for his feasts to be limited to this people group.

I would also expect that a great many of us who don't realize it actually have physical ties to the ancient Israelites. YHWH promised Abraham and Sarah that in their children "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:18), and the House of Israel was scattered among the nations. Because of this it seems likely that people from around the world have stemmed from the Israelites. Since most of us can't trace our family lineage back for more than a few hundred years, we won't know with certainty until the Creator makes that clear.

I think many people hear of the Biblical holidays and connect them with Judaism, simply because in recent history they have mostly been kept by Jewish people. It is very admirable that many Jews have kept these times set apart. But they do not have a monopoly on Scripture, and they are not the only people YHWH instructed to celebrate the feasts. Whether or not you are Jewish, if you follow and serve YHWH then you are called to meet with him at his set apart times and celebrate the Biblical holidays.

More on this topic:
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Reasons Why Believers Should Keep the Feasts
Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Holidays

Why Christians Should Quit Easter and Start Celebrating the Biblical Holidays

This is why Christians should quit Easter and start celebrating the Biblical holidays instead.

Easter happens around the same time of year as the Biblical holidays of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits.

While the Bible tells us to celebrate certain set apart times, we are never told to participate in the customs of Easter!

To be clear, giving up Easter does NOT mean we don't celebrate the resurrection of the Messiah or that we're not thankful for that!

But rather, embracing the Biblical set apart times of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits means celebrating the Messiah's resurrection for eight days, instead of one.

Embracing the Biblical holidays means you celebrate the Messiah's resurrection when and how the Bible says to.

The Messiah is referred to as the lamb throughout the New Testament because of what the lamb stood for at Passover. Keeping Passover gives us better understanding of the who the Messiah is and why YHWH chose to call him the lamb.

In Exodus the blood of the lamb spared the Israelites from death. Because the lamb was killed, they were not.

The Messiah was killed on Passover and resurrected on First Fruits - neither event happened on Easter.

The Biblical holidays are a wealth of historic and prophetic significance. Taking part in them helps us to grow closer to the Creator and understand Scripture better.

The Messiah said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of YHWH and put it into practice." -Luke 11:28

Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive my honor and praise.

Related posts:
Differences Between Passover and Easter
Five Things Every Believer Should Know about Easter
Why Believers Should Keep Passover

Celebrating the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread

There is so much excitement and joy about Passover, that the Feast of Unleavened Bread often gets overlooked because of that. I wanted to share some ideas for group celebrations of this set apart time, because Scripture tells us to assemble together for the first and last days of this seven-day feast. Whether you are joining with your family, friends, small group, or congregation any of these activities would work well to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

How to celebrate Unleavened Bread with your congregation, group, or Bible study:

-Get together for leftovers from Passover. The day after Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread, and it's also a Sabbath. Avoid cooking or spending the day preparing more food by serving up leftovers from your Passover meal. Yes, Scripture tells us not to let the leftovers from sacrificial lamb remain until the next day, but it doesn't tell us we can't have leftover salads, etc. (Also because of the Messiah, we should not be sacrificing animals!) If your menu is similar to this one, the salads, hummus, dips, and veggies all keep well as leftovers.

-Make omer counters. The counting of the omer starts on First Fruits, which typically lands during Unleavened Bread. Have everyone bring supplies to make their own omer counter. There are many different ways you could do this, but a few ideas are: scratch off omer counter, DIY flair omer counter, or this omer counter from Torah Sisters. Even having kids make paper chains would work well!

-Movie night. Have a movie night at your congregation or at home with friends. Watch The Ten Commandments or another film of the Exodus story, or other faith-based movie. Popcorn is unleavened and would be an appropriate snack to serve.

-Worship night. There's never a bad time to worship YHWH, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is no exception. Join with your congregation or Bible study for a time of worship together. It would be special to have live music, and if you're a singer or musician, this would be a great time to use your talent. Or stream some great recorded worship songs that you enjoy. Take time at some point in the evening to pray together as well.

-Read Scripture. Why not get together for a Bible study focused on a topic like bread or leavening or something else related to this time? You could also take turns reading aloud the Exodus story or the details of the Messiah's resurrection. If there are kids in your group, they could be directed to perform a skit of a pertinent Bible story. For younger kids, consider doing a puppet show or incorporating fun visual examples into the Bible stories you tell.

-Have an unleavened potluck meal. If you make homemade unleavened bread, it is nice and soft, and you can serve it with regular sandwich toppings. Unleavened sandwiches and soup or salads would be a group-friendly meal where most of the work could easily be done ahead of time.

I hope you are able to join with others to celebrate YHWH's set apart time of Unleavened Bread. If it's just you or your family, these ideas can still be applied to enjoy this time! Take time to worship, rest, celebrate, and have fun during Matzah Week!

More ideas for celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread:
My Matzah Week - What Celebrating Unleavened Bread Looks Like
12 Ways to Celebrate Unleavened Bread
The Beginner's Guide to the Feast of Unleavened Bread