The Advent of Christmas is a beautiful time of year to continue special traditions in our families. Liturgical living speaks to all of our hearts, but especially to the hearts of the young. Children, especially those in the first plane of development, are highly sensitive to watching and waiting for the Christ child through experiencing their Church and home environments- the different sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and voices around them form a part of their soul. As adults, we work to prepare the environment to meet these needs of the child and while doing so, become better Christians ourselves. We follow our children, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Jesus.
At times, amidst the busy holiday season, it can be challenging to find time to prepare our hearts and homes for Jesus. Here are some ways we can accomplish Advent traditions simply and authentically:
1. Create your family’s Advent prayer table. The OLMS sisters have some wonderful YouTube videos which can be viewed HERE. The children love actively decorating the table, young kiddos can place the Advent wreath or bring another figure for the Nativity scene, while older children can write the prayer cards and light the candles. Dad leads the family in prayer each evening, and the other family members can have additional tasks, making the day’s celebration one in which each member of the family can participate.
2. Invest in a liturgical calendar or book. Our family enjoys Kendra Tierney’s The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life because most of the celebrations are Montessori aligned and many bring in the different senses, which children need and love! A few days before the first Sunday of Advent, which coincides with the new Church year, I spend a few minutes reviewing Kendra’s chapters on Advent and Christmas, making notes in my planner on various feast days that fall during the Advent season. Her family celebrations are mostly centered around meal times, which usually helps with simple planning since families are already together for dinner in the evenings. Another option is to use the Jesse Tree mediations and pray together around the Advent wreath. Kendra also has a new book on this tradition called O Come, Emmanuel.
Kendra’s books are linked HERE. Her website is https://catholicallyear.com/.
3. Live each day with an Advent calendar. While the traditional chocolate-a-day calendars are fun, the calendars themselves are lacking in authentic liturgical teaching and sometimes, personal restraint! In my experience, children love unfolding a new Advent reading or a new activity each day. These can be simple activities such as reading a new Advent book, making small gifts to deliver to family or friends, an act of service, adding a figure to the Nativity set, etc. I usually make the calendar to coincide with the liturgical living ideas from Kendra and it works well for simple planning purposes. Another idea that we began this year is to use a wooden Advent spiral (traditionally a Waldorf practice) and re-arrange the spiral to make one long “journey through Advent” (there are twenty five holes and so you can use it during the days leading to Christmas). We added Holy Family statues so every time we move the candle, Mary and Joseph travel along the road to Bethlehem. The children have responded well to this as it is so concrete and is used like a story (when combined with short Scripture verses).
The Waldorf spirals are found HERE. The Mary and Joseph figurines can be found HERE.
4. Get Cozy! The Danes have taught the world a new perspective on getting cozy! ”Hygge” (pronounced "hoo-ga”) is a concept that “encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life”. Dr. Montessori valued the importance of cultural awareness and that teaching our children different traditions of people around the world fosters respect. After reading about the Danish way of parenting and learning about how cozy reading times, a simple cup of tea or hot chocolate, enjoying a meal outside with friends, and dimming lights and lighting candles can affect the overall atmosphere of our homes, we began incorporating some of these aspects. Some days, we are unable to set aside special times for this, other than bedtime reading and prayers, but when we intentionally set aside more time for these things there is a noticeable difference in our children. When combined with Advent prayers and traditions, there is a deeper awareness of peace, comfort, and relationship. Children will notice the home atmosphere changing- the color purple replacing the color green, the presence and smell of pine, more candles and less lamplight, different prayers, new stories, and more hopeful waiting (however hard that may be sometimes). This Advent environment offers many chances to hear God speak in the silence of our hearts and to grow in the virtues of faith, hope, love, and patience.
5. Follow the child. Finally, the child teaches us how to approach the season of Advent…the simple act of unwrapping the Nativity figurines brings awe and wonder. Watching the children touch and smell the candles or the pine needles of the Advent wreath (when not in use J). Allowing the children to bring their favorite Nativity characters with them to their workspaces. Offering each child some small decorations so that they can make their own room liturgically festive. Giving the children a chance to choose an Advent tradition (i.e. an older child reading Scripture or Advent meditations, younger children decorating Jesse tree ornaments, baking cookies for others, or placing straw pieces in Baby Jesus’ manger, etc.) will help your kiddos personalize these traditions and feel closer to Jesus in their own way. As they go about these things, simply watch and learn from them. They will truly make the memories the whole family will remember in years to come.
Written By: Maggie Clement
John, Nick, and Emma praying with the journey to Bethlehem calendar.
Emma matching Nativity set figurines. She created this work on her own and I thought it best to let her work with these materials for awhile!
Emma bringing Jesus, Mary, and Joseph with her during work time.