Advent traditions / Christmas traditions

[Catherine_W]

Hi!
I was just hoping that you all could share some of your family Advent traditions and Christmas traditions. I am really looking forward to finding ways to really live the liturgical seasons of the year in my home and was hoping to hear some good ideas. I grew up in a Catholic home, but my parents did not have many traditionally Catholic ways of celebrating the season… in fact I did not really understand the difference between Advent and Christmas, they just blended all into one. I want to make sure my future children really can live the liturgical year and come to know and understand. I was watching EWTN today and there was a show on called “Celebrating Feasts and Seasons” featuring Joanna Bogle. It looked very interesting! I believe it was focused more on British traditions (which are wonderful)… but I was just hoping to hear about even more Catholic family traditions from many different countries. Also, if you have any good websites you can suggest I would love those as well.

 

[Cat]

Thirty years ago, when my husband and I were newlyweds, we started a tradition by accident that has remained with our family.

Our landlord put out a warning that thieves were in the area stealing Christmas gifts, and advised that tenants not put their gifts out under their trees.

We complied, and so there were no gifts under our tree until Christmas morning. We put our creche under the tree instead.

We decided the following year to leave our tree “gift free” until Christmas. It helped us not think about gifts and to think about Jesus. And it was so neat and uncluttered–no big pile of packages to trip over and no big mess on the floor.

It was an especially wonderful tradition when our babies started arriving! It was great not to spend so much time saying, “No, don’t touch!” And our kids didn’t burn with curiousity to know what was in the packages, because there were no packages until Christmas morning.

And when we got cats, it was good, too. We don’t have to worry about our gifts getting “played with” by curious cats, or worse, barfed on or peed on.

Our family has started and stopped a lot of traditions over the year, but this is the one tradition we have kept up. So thanks to those unknown thieves for helping us get that tradition started.

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

ooh ooh, I love bragging about…er…I mean… sharing…my Advent traditions!

We cut our tree down and put it up on the first Sunday of Advent. It’s not a Christmas Tree though - it’s a Jesse Tree. I have bible readings and purple ornaments for each day’s readings that get hung on the tree by the kids. I even have a purple tree skirt. On Gaudete Sunday, we turn the tree lights (which were strung but not lit when the tree was first erected) on. On Christmas Eve, the Jesse Tree ornaments come down, and the Christmas Ornaments go up (along with the red tree skirt)

Decorations: We put up a wreath with a purple bow on our door during advent, and on Christmas Eve, change to a red bow. Our other Christmas Decorations (stockings, nativity scenes…) start coming out on the 4th Sunday of advent. Of course Jesus doesn’t arrive in the mangers (we have several) until Christmas morning.

Other traditions: We celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas by placing chocolate coins in our shoes overnight. We have a large empty manger that we set under the tree during Advent. Each day, the kids put pieces of hay in the manger when they make sacrifices, or do nice things. Then on Christmas morning, when the baby Jesus goes into the manger, their good deeds have made a soft bed for Him. We also light the advent wreath at dinner each night with a special prayer / bible verse / song. At Christmas time, we replace the advent wreath with a red candle and light it through Epiphany at dinner with a different prayer / bible verse / song. We have a special meal and a pinata on Christmas Eve.

All during Advent, I try to play Advent music, and reserve the Christmas music for Christmas Eve and beyond. I do give in in the car, because sometime’s it’s just too tempting. But at home I try to keep to the correct music for the season. This requires you to have your own Christmas music though - seeing as the radio stations stop playing it on Christmas day.

It seems like alot, and it is. But we try to keep it fun for the kids, and after a few years of figuring it out and organizing it, it is becoming easier and more natural.

There is a good book called “Advent, Christmas and Epiphany in the Domestic Church.” I think the website is www.domestic-church.com

 

[whatevergirl]

Hi!
I was just hoping that you all could share some of your family Advent traditions and Christmas traditions. I am really looking forward to finding ways to really live the liturgical seasons of the year in my home and was hoping to hear some good ideas. I grew up in a Catholic home, but my parents did not have many traditionally Catholic ways of celebrating the season… in fact I did not really understand the difference between Advent and Christmas, they just blended all into one. I want to make sure my future children really can live the liturgical year and come to know and understand. I was watching EWTN today and there was a show on called “Celebrating Feasts and Seasons” featuring Joanna Bogle. It looked very interesting! I believe it was focused more on British traditions (which are wonderful)… but I was just hoping to hear about even more Catholic family traditions from many different countries. Also, if you have any good websites you can suggest I would love those as well.

Hi Catherine;

My family and I (dh and 2 kids)…have lit an advent wreath candle daily, reading the daily mass readings aloud, and a reflection, usually we have obtained from an advent website. This year–I’m excited to report, I have found for free, a beautiful advent pamphlet, which has the advent readings with a daily reflection and prayer. I received it from a local parish. You can also find these daily reflections on www.wau.org. (that is who publishes the pamphlet)

I have also done some separate exercises on advent websites…and we also give up something, or do something extra, during advent. In the sacrificing something meaningful (or should I say what we grow attached to in this world? ) we really grow in holiness during the advent season.

I’m going to give up lunch to a fave place during my workweek. And also we have decided as a family to not eat out at all…except for my birthday. It is a time of waiting…in the waiting, we grow closer to Christ.

God bless, and may you have a very holy and blessed Advent season.

 

[whatevergirl]

ooh ooh, I love bragging about…er…I mean… sharing…my Advent traditions!

We cut our tree down and put it up on the first Sunday of Advent. It’s not a Christmas Tree though - it’s a Jesse Tree. I have bible readings and purple ornaments for each day’s readings that get hung on the tree by the kids. I even have a purple tree skirt. On Gaudete Sunday, we turn the tree lights (which were strung but not lit when the tree was first erected) on. On Christmas Eve, the Jesse Tree ornaments come down, and the Christmas Ornaments go up (along with the red tree skirt)

Decorations: We put up a wreath with a purple bow on our door during advent, and on Christmas Eve, change to a red bow. Our other Christmas Decorations (stockings, nativity scenes…) start coming out on the 4th Sunday of advent. Of course Jesus doesn’t arrive in the mangers (we have several) until Christmas morning.

Other traditions: We celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas by placing chocolate coins in our shoes overnight. We have a large empty manger that we set under the tree during Advent. Each day, the kids put pieces of hay in the manger when they make sacrifices, or do nice things. Then on Christmas morning, when the baby Jesus goes into the manger, their good deeds have made a soft bed for Him. We also light the advent wreath at dinner each night with a special prayer / bible verse / song. At Christmas time, we replace the advent wreath with a red candle and light it through Epiphany at dinner with a different prayer / bible verse / song. We have a special meal and a pinata on Christmas Eve.

All during Advent, I try to play Advent music, and reserve the Christmas music for Christmas Eve and beyond. I do give in in the car, because sometime’s it’s just too tempting. But at home I try to keep to the correct music for the season. This requires you to have your own Christmas music though - seeing as the radio stations stop playing it on Christmas day.

It seems like alot, and it is. But we try to keep it fun for the kids, and after a few years of figuring it out and organizing it, it is becoming easier and more natural.

There is a good book called “Advent, Christmas and Epiphany in the Domestic Church.” I think the website is www.domestic-church.com

Your Jesse tree tradition sounds really interesting.

 

[Catherine_W]

Thank you all so much!

You have such wonderful family traditions for celebrating the Advent season! This is exactly what I was hoping to find! I love what I have heard, but I would love to hear more if there is anyone else out there who would like to share.

Happy 1st Sunday of Advent!!!

 

[rabbitt]

A few years ago I decided that I would change my view of the Christmas tree. I’m not married but, my little cousins and Goddaughter set up my tree and the nativity scene. Instead of presents under the tree, the manger is placed there. I have a set of 50 figurine of peasants and children that bring their gifts to Jesus. So the children place them all over the living room and on the weekends they move them closer to the tree. The wise men end up on fridge at first because they have the farthest to travel. Baby Jesus is hidden until Christmas Day. I lost Him one year, it was very interesting to find Him in my sewing basket - my cousins are very inventive and forgetful.

Christmas Eve is a day of anticipation and we eat a very simple meal and relax until we go to mass. Christmas day we go to mass again.

The best time I ever had and the only thing I remember from when I was a child, was not the gifts, but our four families getting together right after church and eating lunch and dinner together. Everyone brought something and everyone helped with the dishes. The children played all day and all night! We don’t do that anymore, no one seems to have the time. Sad, very sad…

 

[joandarc2008]

My fiance actually does not like to celebrate the Christmas season because he feels his parents made it very secular by giving him material stuff and not love during his childhood. He believes that the answer to what do you want for Christmas is whatever you want to get me because it should be about the joy of giving and not the joy of receiving. Once I understood this I made a deal with him. We decided we would figure out how much we would budget for our outdoor decorating every year. Instead of actually decorating the outside of our house that money will go to different charities, buying children in the hospital toys, and maybe finding some families that are in debt and “anonymously” clearing some of their debt. I believe and so does he that this is a better way for us to celebrate Jesus’s birthday.

Merry Christmas and God bless everyone:crutches:

 

[sleepymom]

I wanted to share an idea for kids and advent. I just found a book called Christmas A to Z fun facts for kids from Hallmark. Everyday during Advent you read one page with your kids. Its a beautiful book. It has bible passages on some of the pages. Like S is for song and it quotes Luke 1:46-55. Z is for Jesus the beging and the end and it references Revelation 1:8. I have a lot of Christmas story books but this is the first deeply Christian Advent book I have found for my kids. We light the Advent wreath and read the passage for the day. It’s a great way to teach kids how to do daily spiritual reading and focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

 

[Lorie_Carnochan]

As my children are all grown and we have our extended family get-together to open our Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, I now enjoy Christmas Day by going to Mass and then thinking about the day and all it is that Jesus gave up by coming here to redeem us. I think that there is way too much commercialism in Christmas and this way I am for that one day steering clear of any of that.

After the get-together the evening before with so much noise, food and confusion it is so nice to have Christmas Day to clear my head.

I know that there are others out there who are alone and feeling sad on Christmas Day because they are alone. I would ask you to remember that you are never alone. Jesus is only a prayer away.

I pray for all people a very holy Christmas with Christ at the centre of your day.: bless you:

 

[Light_Seeker]

Not religious … but a silly Christmas tradition:

Many years ago, in college, wrote my father a nice Christmas card thanking him for all the money he sent me over the year helping with tuition, food, and rent. Told him I could never possibly repay him for this, but in the spirit of giving, enclosed is a check that will help him defray some of his expenses of supporting me through those tough financial times.

The check I enclosed was for 1 million dollars.

I thought I was being cute.

HE DEPOSITED IT! Needless to say, we both had NSF bank charges.

For the last 30 years, he sends me a check, and I send him one. Just got his, his largest, for 700 trillion. Wrote me that in the spirit of the financial crisis, this is my slice of the bailout for my home mortgage .

Both of us cash these NSF checks right after Christmas. We figure its a good way to start the New Year … the last check we write for the preceding year bounces, so it can only get better!

 

[Lariena]

We light the advent wreath and read the appropriate weekly prayer each night at dinner during Advent.

Christmas morning we have a cake that says “Happy Birthday Jesus!” and we sing happy birthday to Him and have cake. We also hang a stocking for Jesus on our mantle with our stockings and the girls write a prayer to Jesus on Christmas morning and put it in His stocking.