Advent Calendars

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Hi everyone,

I am a new Catholic. I became Catholic at the Easter vigil this past year. I am 34, married, with no children as of yet.

Can you please tell me what your thoughts are on advent calendars? I would like to do one since I did not experience it as a child. Could advent be treated similarly to lent, where we take something away or do something special every day? I want to commit to something. I would love it if you shared with me your favorite advent traditions. My husband is a “Cradle Catholic” and he is not interested in any of this.

Thank you,

Kat
 
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We always used an Advent wreath. It had 4 violet candles and one rose one. We lit the candle on each Sunday of Advent and said a prayer. My wreath came with a booklet, but I think you can find the prayers online. On Christmas Eve we replaced the candles with white ones.
 
That is interesting. It reminds me of the candles at church during advent. Very cool.
 
We use an Advent wreath as well. Every evening we light the proper number of candles and have a family prayer. My wife and I have been using the book “Meditations for Advent”, although we’re now looking for something a bit more suited for younger kids.
 
There are advent prayer books where there is a meditation for each day. You might want to light your candle each day and do the reading.
 
I always was given an Advent calendar until I was 16. I always buy myself a new one each year. This year I bought one from Leaflet missal. It has a scripture reading for each day. My family did not do family religious practices as a family, but they encouraged individual acts.
 
The advent calendars here are usually full of chocolates.

Little doors on each date and when you open one it has a chocolate inside.

I’ve never seen a religious one but I haven’t looked either.
 
Advent is a small kind of lent in preparation to the feast of the nativity of the Lord. I came from a non-Catholic home and what I find that the world does is they really love to have plenty of treats, cookies, parties etc during December and by the time Christmas comes it seems we’ve all over indulged. There’s nothing special about Christmas cookies if you’ve been eating them for a month.

I would prefer to flip that around. Instead of treating ourselves, every day, try to find a way to bless someone else to honor baby Jesus. Think of it as his birthday is coming up, what can I give him? Save the festivities for Christmas eve and on through Jan 1st. If only there was a calendar that started on Christmas eve. lol
 
We did Advent calendar. You can find religious ones through many Catholic or Christian stores. The best ones when I was little came from Germany and were very beautiful. They didn’t contain candy, just nice pictures of Christmas things such as angels, ornaments, snowflakes, candy canes, presents etc. The last picture was usually a large nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus.

We did not do Advent wreaths because (1) required candles which my family would have considered a fire hazard and (2) there was already one at church that we got to see every week. We did not do Jesse trees because at the time I was a child in the 1970s they were considered a new modern post Vatican II thing and my mother was traditional in her approach and more interested in having the Advent calendar, the creche, the Christmas cards with a picture of Mary and Baby Jesus, etc.
 
Thank you, mrsdizzyd. I just bought the book! I’m excited to start reading it 🙂
 
Did you get the St. Thomas one or a different one? I hope you like it.
 
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For my daughter after she was confirmed eons ago, for each day of advent I printed out the saint of the day’s story and give that to her to learn about the saints. After advent was over she wanted more so I did the same thing during lent. She took it from that point and started devouring books about the saints.

I think doing something each day would be a wonderful way to “prepare” for the coming of Christ, as that is what Advent is all about.

When she was little I used an advent calendar that hangs on the wall. My SIL bought it for me when my daughter was born. It has HUGE pockets and used to take some thought and $ to fill it…I’m talking pockets that are 3x5"!

Unfortunately, she still expects to see it hanging on the wall and full of stuff when she comes home for the holidays!! LOL
 
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Growing up, we would do Advent calendars some years. I wasn’t in charge and didn’t really pay attention to why we may have had them some years but not others.

Now, we are an interfaith family - Catholic and Jewish. We do it all. Hanukkah and all the hanukkah things (dreidel, menorah, latkes, etc), Advent and all the Advent things (wreath, secular celebrations (lighting of the city square), St. Nicholas Day, Krampus, and of course Christmas - Christmas Eve mass, presents, visitng extended family after extended family…
 
Dumb Ox publications have a very beautiful Advent and Twelfth night calendar. Both of them make Nativity scenes.

I have not seen the Twelfth Night one, but I know how the Advent one works. On the first night (December 1) the Star of Bethlehem is added. There’s a short prayer for each night. From the 2nd to the 14th animals are added. St. Joseph is added on the 15th, Our Lady on the 16th. That night we also start the Christmas novena. Each night a coloured star is added after the novena prayer is said. From the 17th to the 23rd you add the O Antiphons. These are stickers that are placed at the top of the sheet. On the 24th the angels are added and the Christmas novena concludes. Lastly the Christ Child is added on the 25th.

With the exception of the O Antiphons and the small novena stars, all of the figures are to be cut out and coloured.
 
A few years ago I rediscovered the Advent calendars of my childhood here. Our Pastor who was also a friend of the family always gave us one when we were kids.

Many of those have a bit of scripture behind each door. I never liked and don’t remember ever buying the chocolate or treat ones for my kids.
 
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