I will begin by giving a quick story of our Advent-conversion...what I like to call my seeing the light moment in which our traditions changed to bring us closer to the true meaning of this season.
In 1999, we were stationed in Germany...we were due to return back to the States and it came about right before Christmas! In fact, the Army decided to have our household goods packed the day before Christmas! I was mortified at the thought because I knew that all of our traditions were centered around things that would need to be packed and only presents that could be carried on a plane with us would be allowed. It really was a devastating moment for me and I was lost in providing a remedy. Michael had been told that military movers are notorious for breaking or losing items, so he suggested that we inventory all of our possessions, including our ever-growing book collection. I set about doing this and in the process came across a book entitled "Winter: Celebrating the Season in a Christian Home." I had never seen the book before and I was curious if it was worth adding to my inventory list, so I opened it up, and in the process opened up the true meaning of the season of Advent.
Looking at the title doesn't sound like a book about Advent does it? I truly am convinced this book was brought to us from the Holy Spirit to break us from the secularism that has taken over this precious gift of the Savior. Since this time, I have done many workshops and talks about the season of Advent. I am happy to be able to share some of these ideas with you as well.
WARNING!!! These are traditions that would be very overwhelming to take on all at once. Maybe some of them will never fit into your own family's celebration. Whenever I share these ideas with others, the main reaction I have heard is that it would be too overwhelming to take on this way of celebrating Advent. My answer is to always place the traditions in your home that will best help your family (remember the reason we are doing this in the first place). These ideas have come into our home over the years and not all at once. Our children were also young (and fewer of them...only two of our children know any other way of celebrating and they were very young when we made these changes!) and it was easy to make these changes. The main thing is to take it slow and add to the idea from one year to the next.
We add and take away each year making the experience fresh and meaningful. As you will learn more later, our family does not exchange gifts. A friend asked me earlier this week what we planned to do for Christmas. I told her I did not know...we would spend the Advent season deciding what our Christmas would be like.
That might not make a lot of sense to you now, but hopefully as the blog posts come throughout these next few weeks it will be more apparent. I am so excited about this opportunity to share...my fingers are not working as fast as my mind and I am fumbling over myself...I better get to today's activities so you can begin to see what I mean.
On the First Sunday of Advent, we begin as we do every Sunday...at church for Mass. The first of the Advent wreath candles (purple) is lit. The Advent wreath is a tradition that has its roots based in Germany. At home, we intentionally save this tradition for our meal time to allow us to enjoy the benefit of a candle lit dinner as well as begin our family meal with a focused prayer time. There are four candles (3 purple to remind us of the penitential time of Advent and 1 rose colored candle to show the anticipation time of the 3rd week of Advent). These candles are evenly spaced around the wreath representing the eternal promise of God's presence. Add to this the evergreen of the wreath to show everlasting life and there is great hope in the symbolism itself.
The Scripture readings are so special on this day to remind us of the anticipation that should already be building in our hearts. Each year, our Church tradition is to begin with a new look at the story of our salvation. This Sunday also marks the beginning of a new liturgical year. We are called to renew our commitment to the faith and truly welcome the message of Jesus, who will give the ‘Light’ to the womb of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem but essentially in our lives. In fact, I was able to take this a step further with the boys today when we returned home. I asked them to recommit themselves to their baptismal promises. They recited the creed and I blessed them with holy water and asked that God guide them through the Holy Spirit during this season and beyond.
We are reminded that Jesus is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. (Jer 33:14-16) We are given the instruction just as the Thessalonians to conduct ourselves to please God as we are instructed, and even more so then we desire. (1 Thes 3:12-4:2) However, to bring us back to our present era we must know that Christ has promised to come again. We must anticipate that the second coming where "there will be signs in the...(heavens)...and upon the earth, distress of nations... beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." (Luke 21:25-36)
On His second Advent at the end of the world Jesus will come in the fullness of Divine Power. Then we will be obliged to accept Him as King of Justice. This time is not just about preparing our homes with decorations...it is more about preparing our souls for this coming of Christ in the end of time or the end of our lives...neither of which we know the time or place. Aware of the dangers ahead during this preparation, we call upon His power to protect us and to cleanse us.
Back at home we have already cleaned the main living area of all debris and dust and taken all symbols of Jesus away (I just cannot bear to not have any reminders of Jesus throughout our home, so I have limited the things we put away!). We do this to remember that there was a time when everyone anticipated the coming of the Messiah because he had not become the incarnate God we know in Jesus!
One of these symbols of Christ in our home is a family treasure (given to us from Michael's Aunt Margie who has now passed away)...a large baby Jesus in a manger. The baby Jesus is removed from the creche for safe keeping (to be returned on Christmas morning) but the manger is left in place. We take the time to remind our children (and ourselves) that we are called to help others through works of charity and mercy. Each night we take a moment at our family prayer time to add a piece of straw to the manger in the hopes that our good deeds will soften the bed for the baby to come! The tradition of the Jesse Tree is one that comes and goes in our house. It is one of my favorite traditions (our first Advent described above included a paper Jesse Tree that became our Christmas tree!) but it does not always seem to work itself into our daily routine. Since my main desire has always been to bring Christ into our home without rushing or stressing, I let it come and go as the children are able to understand. The main idea of a Jesse Tree is to trace our Christian heritage back through the Old Testament. Why did we need a Messiah? How did God promise through the ages to fulfill his desire for us to enter into Heaven? Through the Jesse Tree we are able to see that God was always there for His Chosen People and will here for us as well. The link provided gives a full understanding of the tradition. We will try again this year to incorporate this tradition into our days.
One of the favorite traditions for the children was inspired by a toy company! We had discovered Playmobils while in Germany and they have a nativity scene that we still use today. The same year we were given a activity to create a nativity scene through prayerfully placing pieces to the scene each day. We began today with the stable and inspecting the roof for holes. We prayed for a pure home to house the Lord in our hearts. (If you would like these prayers for yourself, sending me a note and I will send them by email.)
One other tradition that we began by chance a few years ago is our Advent family puzzle. We begin the puzzle (religious theme...usually associated with Jesus in some way) on the first day of Advent and try to complete by Christmas or before the Christmas season ends. It is a fun family bonding activity and we are blessed with a counter designated for piecing puzzles. Our puzzle this year is a picture of the Good Shepherd. We look forward to seeing it form over the next couple of weeks.On the First Sunday of Advent, the traditional opening prayer at Mass (that I intentionally did not mention above): "Stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come." With this request to God to "stir up His might," this day was traditionally called Stir-Up Sunday. Many families create a traditional plum pudding or fruit cake or some other recipe that all the family and guests can "stir-up." This activity of stirring-up the ingredients symbolizes our hearts that must be stirred in preparation for Christ's birth.
We are not much on plum pudding in our house. However, we do have a traditional cookie that takes several weeks to 'cure' before baking...anise cookies! So, we take this day to stir up a large batch of these cookies that we will place in our frig to set until later in the month. Too bad the internet has not learned to send smell across the cloud of information! My house smells so good right now!
One last tradition that we have is to read from the Bible more frequently as a family. We start and end our day with Bible devotions. I am also reading from the newest edition of Jesus of Nazareth from our spiritual leader, Pope Benedict XVI. It is a fitting read because it is about the infancy of Jesus. Books are a big part of our family's night time routine so it is a nice way to end the day with the continued focus of Advent. Throughout the season I will talk about other ways books are incorporated into our family time.
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