The word Advent means " coming or arrival," We see the God who created the Heavens and the earth humbly coming down to earth as a little babe to live amongst us. This is something to really celebrate, to rejoice in. God Almighty deigns to descend from his Heavenly home to live amongst his children as one of us, to redeem all of mankind from their sins. This is the start of the journey that will ultimately lead to the cross and Christ's execution and our redemption.
Like Lent, Advent is a time of preparation. In the Gospel of the day we are warned by Jesus, not as a gentle appeal but as a firm exhortation to "be watchful, alert." For we do not know when he will return. It is a reminder to us all that we should not be spiritually complacent but always listening and preparing for the return of the master. So as we begin to look towards this great feast we need to pray for our hearts to be renewed, we must allow His light to pierce our darkness, to fill us, heal us, and restore us so that we can go and take the light out into the world.
Advent is a season that speaks joyfully to a child's heart. There are many ways to help children enter into the spirit of the season. Here are a few ideas that we have done as a family or I have come across to help you enter into this joyful season.
St. Andrews Christmas Novena-- This novena begins on the 30th of November and continues throughout the whole of advent until Christmas Eve. {So strictly speaking it isn't a novena, which lasts for nine days. } However, it is believed that if you say this prayer 15 times a day you will obtain the favour you have requested at the start of the novena.
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God!
to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen.
Advent Candles can be found in many shops. It is nice if you can get one with Christmas symbols on. It is lit each day from the 1st until the 24th. A good reminder that Jesus is the light of the world.
The Advent wreath: The Advent wreath originated in Germany and is an ancient symbol of victory. In Christian symbolism it represents "the fulfillment of time" in the coming of Christ and the glory of his birth.
The Advent wreath can be made as a table decoration or hung from a ceiling. It should be circular as a symbol to everlasting life and made from evergreen branches, to signify Gods "everlastingness" and our immortality. There are four candles, three purple, one pink. The purple signify penance, prayer and longing or preparation. The pink one represents the coming joy, " Rejoice in The Lord always;again I say rejoice." A white candle can be placed in the middle of the wreath which is lit after sundown on Christmas Eve, or after midnight mass to announce the arrival of the Redeemer.
One by one each candle should be lit on Sunday Evening during Advent. The candles can then be lit
each evening during the family mealtime, (though you may need to replace the candles over the
period.) Lighting the candles on the wreath can be a simple way of starting a tradition of family prayer in the home. It is nice if this first candle is the only source of light, we can explain to the children that we are all in spiritual darkness, but we are moving towards the light. Each week as we light the candles the children will see how much brighter the light is becoming. Before lighting the candles a simple blessing can be prayed by the Father or the head of the household:
"O God, by whose words all things are sanctified, pour forth thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may we receive from thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord Amen."
Then if you have some Holy Water sprinkle the wreath with it.
Then when lighting the first candle pray these words
"Lord our God,
we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ:
he is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples,
he is the wisdom that teaches and guides us,
he is the Savior of every nation.
Lord God,
let your blessing come upon us as we light the candles of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise to bring us salvation.
May he come quickly and not delay.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
The Jesse Tree is another good way of helping children prepare for Christmas. There is plenty on the internet telling the story of the Jesse tree. But primarily it is the story of Jesus' family tree. Each day you hang an ornament on a "tree", usually made out of branches. The ornaments are not your usual
run of the mill christmas decorations but special ones relating to the scriptures you read each day.
There's are many good books on the market retelling the Christmas story. I have seen on the internet the idea that you collect lots of different christmas stories, wrap them up and then each day the children choose a book unwrap it and snuggle and enjoy a good story.
Christkindl- or as we call it the Christmas angel. Each year as the children were growing up all our names were put into a hat and each one of us drew out our "secret angel". The idea was that each day we had to do something nice for that person. Now it wasn't simply a nice gesture but the trick was not to get caught doing it. For example you might come home and find your bed made and a note saying "I have prayed for you today" or there might be a little treat on your pillow. Or the pots had been washed without me having to ask, simple gestures which helped us all enter into the spirit of service for one another. On Christmas Eve we always had the big reveal where everyone tried to guess who their secret angel was.
The "O" Antiphons-These antiphons start on December17th, so if you have not been able to do any other Advent activity it's not to late to do this. They are called the "O Antiphons" because each one addresses Jesus by his Old Testament name.
Interestingly, if you take the first letter of each antiphon in its Latin title and starting with the last one and working backwards you get the word ERO CRAS which means "I will be {there} tomorrow."
The seven antiphons are:
Sapientia (Wisdom), Adonai (Lord), Radix (Root), Clavis (Key), Oriens (Dawn), Rex (King), and Emmanuel (Emmanuel).
Another idea the children enjoy is to place an empty crib somewhere that is accessible to them and explain that the best birthday gift we can give to Jesus is our daily little sacrifices. Each time any member of the family does a good deed or makes a sacrifice they can add a piece of straw to the manger. The idea is to fill up the manger with lots of straw to make a comfy bed for the baby Jesus to be placed on, on Christmas Eve.
The Posadas-- Traditionally the Las Posadas (Spanish for “the inns”) is an Advent celebration revolving around the concept of
hospitality. In Mexico and some parts of Central America, it
is traditional to hold Posadas during the nine days before Christmas, beginning December 16 and
ending December 24. The Posadas symbolize Mary and Joseph’s long and frustrating search for a
place to stay where Jesus could be born. The tradition re-enacts-the story told in Luke 2:1-7. We learn from the Posadas that by welcoming the poor and
the needy, we are welcoming Jesus in our midst. Typically, different families in a neighborhood will take turns scheduling a night for the Posada
to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home
has a nativity scene, and the family hosting the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighborhood
children and adults are the pilgrims (“Peregrinos”), who go from house to house, singing a traditional
song about Mary and Joseph searching for lodging. At one house after the other, they are turned
away in , until the weary travelers reach the designated house where Mary
and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Carols are sung and a dinner eaten. This can also be adapted with a travelling crib. I know at my Grandchildren's school the children are given the opportunity to have the baby Jesus arrive at their homes during Advent. Each family joyfully welcome the Christ child into their home and he spends the night with them. The next day they travel with the baby to the next family and pass the "love"on.
I think part of raising children in the faith is to create wonderful memories around the many feasts of the Churches year. There is a wealth of information on the internet and with a little imagination you can create the most wonderful memories that your children will reminisce about for years to come.
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