What We Carry Forward: Symbols That Stay After the Alleluias Fade
Easter arrives with a kind of joyful abundance. Churches fill with lilies. Brass instruments lift the hymns higher. The word Alleluia returns after its long Lenten silence, almost like a deep breath finally released.
For a few weeks, the air feels lighter.
And then, gradually, the season settles. The lilies fade. The music softens, and the ordinary rhythms of life return.
But of course, the church calendar was never meant to be only about the moment of celebration. It is also about what we carry forward once the Alleluias fade. This is where symbols become especially meaningful.
Symbols are quiet companions.
They linger long after the moment that introduced them. A palm folded into a cross. A candle burned low from a long vigil. A stone placed on a prayer table. A small object resting on a desk that reminds us of something sacred we do not want to forget.
They help memory take root.
(Psst - How to fold the Palm Cross is here.)
During Holy Week and Easter, we encounter many of these visual markers. The cross. The empty tomb. Light breaking into darkness. Seeds, gardens, rivers, and new life. They speak in ways that words alone sometimes cannot.
That is the power of symbols.
They allow meaning to travel with us.
Artists understand this instinctively. When we create something for worship or reflection, we are often asking a quiet question: What image will help this truth remain? A symbol becomes a kind of visual shorthand for hope, renewal, forgiveness, or resurrection.
Over the years at Carrot Top Studio,
I’ve seen how often people return to these visual anchors. A stole worn year after year during Easter. A small print hanging in an office. A labyrinth traced slowly with a finger during a moment of prayer.
The object itself may be simple. But the meaning it carries deepens over time.
After Easter morning passes and the flowers are cleared away, the symbols remain.
So as the Alleluias soften and the season moves forward, it may be worth noticing what symbols you are carrying with you.
A folded palm cross.
A stone from a prayer walk.
A candle stub saved from a vigil.
Sometimes the smallest objects become the most faithful storytellers. They remind us that the story of new life did not end with Easter morning. It is still unfolding. Alleluia!
If reflections like this resonate with you, you may enjoy the thoughtful essays we share regularly on Substack, where we continue exploring symbols, creativity, and the quiet ways meaning takes shape in everyday life.
