Advent starts on Sunday! It is
one of my very favorite church seasons, and yet one so difficult to celebrate
properly. While the entire secular world
is singing Christmas carols and decking the halls in a frenzy, we are called to
WAIT. To slow down. To breathe.
To hold off on the celebration and to prepare our hearts and minds for
the coming of Jesus. Not only as a little
child who brought salvation to mankind, but as the Prince of Peace for whose
second coming we should all be prepared.
It is a difficult season for families trying to live their faith while
also living in the world. The joy of
Christmas is so infectious that it is difficult to ignore the secular trappings
in favor of a “little Lent”. The way our
family compromises is by making our Advent as meaningful and liturgically appropriate
as possible, while still indulging in small amounts of Christmas fun. As we have learned more and more about the
rich traditions the church has surrounding the feast days and customs of
Advent, it has gotten easier and easier.
There are so many wonderful devotions and traditions for Advent! I’ve tried to share as many of the “major”
ones as possible below (other than feast day fun which will be a separate
post). If you are having trouble keeping
track of everything, might I suggest using this Advent Checklist from
Joy Filled Family. This printable calendar from
Family
Feast and Feria is also a great way to keep track of feast days.
If this seems completely overwhelming to you, then by all means, hold
off! Again, the purpose of Advent is to
focus on Christ. For me, these activities
help me reach this goal. For you, they
may not! If you feel yourself getting
overwhelmed or stressed, then focus on Jesus in a way that works for you!
Advent Wreath
The Advent Wreath is an old
Germanic tradition that pairs an evergreen wreath with a set of 5 candles – one
for each Sunday of Advent and the Christ candle, which is lit on
Christmas. Read more about it at Catholic
Culture.
Last Minute Super Cheap Non Drip Daily Use Advent Wreath @
Catholic
All Year (Very bottom of post)
Jesse Tree
A Jesse Tree is a traditional
devotional that counts down the days of Advent by reading a different story
from scripture each day starting chronologically with Creation and ending in
the birth of Jesus. I have only included
simple options that allow for fairly quick set-up as opposed to those that
require more effort such as felt options.
Read more about the Jesse Tree @ Catholic
Culture.
A Jesse Tree Printable Calendar Tree @
Paper
Dali ($)
Advent Countdowns
There are many ways, outside of a
Jesse Tree to countdown the days of Advent.
I did not include any non-Catholic sources such as chocolate or lego
Advent calendars. Those are easy to come
by and I wanted to make sure to encourage the use of more meaningful options.
O Antiphons
The O Antiphons are an old
tradition from Dec. 17th-24th, which recall the
prophecies of Jesus through his many titles.
I’ve also listed activities for the hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel” since
the song ties in perfectly to the O Antiphons.
Read more about it at Catholic
Culture.
Preparing the Manger
This is an Advent custom in which
families place pieces of straw in an empty nativity cradle in order to prepare
it to hold Baby Jesus on Christmas Eve.
The straw is typically placed when the family member performs a good
deed. Read more about it at Catholic
Culture.
Christkindl
A “secret Santa” style tradition
in which instead of buying gifts, you choose a family member for whom to do
kind deeds.
St. Andrew Christmas Novena
This novena begins on the Feast
of St. Andrew (Nov. 30) and is repeated 15 times each day until Christmas.
St. Andrew Christmas Novena Printable @
Misc.
Advent Learning
These great links provide ways to
teach your children (and yourself!) a bit more about the Advent season.
Thanks for reading!
Follow Andrea's board Catholic Kids: Advent on Pinterest.
