On the 29th of November, we will be entering into the season of Advent and a new year in the life of the Church!
Time to bring out our candles, crèche, treasured books.
Time to build a new Jesse Tree and find a new Advent coloring book.
Time to begin our prayers for God's leading for this fresh and new season.
Time to assess our commitments, looking for new ways to serve and give.
But time also to practice the disciplines of Advent.
I have so many happy memories of previous Advents: cold, dark winter mornings spent in the light of our Advent wreath candles, hanging our Jesse Tree Ornament of the Day and reading its companion Scripture, filling in the next illustration from a coloring book on the Nativity, pouring over a beautiful picture book, then praying together, and looking for ways to serve each other, our church, our community. And the music, I cannot wait to sing the O Antiphons!
Our Advent traditions at home started when we had just one little girl scribbling on the Christmas coloring page in her high chair. Most of the books were made of board and the nativity scene was made of little wooden figures easy for chubby hands to hold. A basket filled with scarves, a dolly, and blankets, all that was needed for the story to be replayed again and again. And though the coloring has improved, the books are more complex, the prayers more thoughtful, and there are three children now, not much else will change this Advent.
I have found that young children have great capacity for the spiritual. They ask questions, they seek beauty, they have a sense of evil and good. We do our part by not hindering this path to God. Hindering by hurrying them and filling their life with too much--activities, toys, busyness, and even new traditions.
Yes, we want a life of abundance and fullness of God and these wonderful Advent traditions are a way of partipating in that fullness. But there is a difference between abundance and excess.
Each new Advent, I'm easily tempted to read more books and follow new links for new ideas and recipes, rather than quiet myself in preparation for His Coming. I'm tempted in my enthusiasm for the Church Year to seek new activities when the old ones have not proved themselves to be outgrown or even fully understood for children or mother. Spiritual practices like the church year, fasting, or solitude may fit best in certain periods of our lives, but they can never be exhausted. The mystery is always inviting us deeper into infinite presence.
We learn to WAIT, wait for the day we remember our Lord's birth; wait for His future Return; and wait also in the now for Wisdom to teach us the way to go.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
We learn to HOPE, hope in the One who made all things new and brought victory over Satan and the grave.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
We learn to REJOICE, rejoice and find good cheer in the mystery of our faith: Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will Come Again.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
We learn to PRAY, pray to the One who can close the path to misery and bring us to our heavenly home.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
We learn to WORSHIP, worship God, humbled as a babe in the manger, yet the same Old Testament Lord of Might and Majesty and Awe.
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
We learn to PREPARE, prepare our hearts to receive Him afresh by calling for His Mercy again.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
We learn to WELCOME, welcome all, so that sad divisions cease and hearts are one:
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
We have the opportunity to practice these Christian disciplines this season; may we carefully consider which of our traditions and activities will lead us into Emmanuel.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also want to click the links above to other posts I've written about our Advent Traditions. You may also be interested in my posts on the theme of my blog, living the church year, and our Tuesday Teas to celebrate the feast days of the church. Thank you so much for visiting! And a Blessed Advent!
Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots."
A Jesse Tree in Medieval Art was a way of recounting the roots of Jesus throughout the Old Testament. It told the story of God's providence and sovereignty from the Fall in the Garden to the Incarnation of Christ. A wonderful tradition now combines the customs of the Christmas Tree and an Advent Calendar with the concept of the Jesse Tree for families each Advent Season to trace the events of Scripture leading up to Jesus' birth. The story is represented in images pictured on ornaments you hang each day on your tree. The tree can be drawn on a large poster board or a real tree can be used. We just place sticks in a vase of rocks! The children loved doing this so much: getting to be the one to hang the ornament on the tree (they never forgot whose turn it was!), figuring out what the symbol meant, hearing Scripture together each day, the anticipation of Christmas building as more and more ornaments were hung on the tree.
For more info on the Jesse Tree, I found this website helpful; it contains the history, a table of readings and symbols. I printed our ornaments from the Reformed Church Press and used their devotions as a starting place. The ornaments are in black and white so hubby and I colored them as a surprise for the kids and hung them across our dining room with clothes line and pins for the start of Advent. This year we may be able to get a little fancier but last year I felt it was better to start the tradition than to demand perfection and never try!
You can also find color ornaments to print here , if that would save a bit of time and encourage you to give it a try.
Seeking to become a story-formed people, we must hear the entire story again and again.
Also I wish I had known about The Glorious Coming ebook by Ann at Holy Experience, whose posts inspire me everyday, before I made mine!
Let me know if you any questions, any other resources you have found for your Jesse Tree or even your own pictures!
Advent Wreaths and Christmas Traditions: Glorious and Trifling Attempts to Shine the Light in the Darkness.
During Advent, we light the candles of our Advent wreath at our family meals. Each week a new candle added and a new theme explored. It is a visual way to remind us of the true reason for this season when the busyness of our lives could prevent us from seeing the LIGHT. Though the symbolism, number, and colors vary according to faith tradition, we all light our candles to hold onto the truth of Christ's words from the Book of John: "The LIGHT has come into the world" and "I am the LIGHT of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
The light of our candles also intensifies the darkness around us, reminding us that there are those who do not have "the Light of life." For many the days of December are long, dark and cold with little hope; the festivities heighten the loneliness; the memories of Christmas past bring sorrow. So we light our candle to hold onto the truth of Christ's words to us, "You are the light of World." This is not only a season for our own spiritual preparation, but a time to let His Light shine before others. And so we attempt small acts of kindness for our neighbors, a sidewalk of snow shoveled in the darkness of night, a pumpkin loaf with a pretty ribbon, candy snowflakes ornaments made by the children, a plate of cookies, a simple invitation to Lessons and Carols. We also plan, purchase and wrap gifts for families and friends (even if they are gifts they don't really need) just as a way to show love and to celebrate The Gift of Light.
Christ's entrance into the world is such a gift it fills and overwhelms until we have so many traditions surrounding its day of remembrance: presents, stockings, greenery, parties, feasts, lights, pageants, cookies, decorations, stars, concerts, angels, and crèche.
I grew up knowing people who thought all of this was not of God; no carols, gifts, trees were allowed. But I see these small attempts both glorious and trifling as an outpouring of the celebration of the Gift of Light and Love, an attempt for fullness of God:
"Christmas is coming--for the children, the most wonderful time of the year. And for the children of Light, it should be the most wonderful, wonderfull time of the year, because to the Church, it is the year's beginning. No one but God could have made such a beginning, so full of beauty and glory and sheer magic as this." (Newland p. 3)
So we build a community and culture where everything around us, our food, our activities, our decorations, speak to this amazing mystery of our faith,
God became Flesh. God ate food. He worked. He went to parties.
"Christian people are the only people on earth who can truly celebrate Christmas, even though we do so inadequately. But we can't help ourselves. We've heard the angels singing and the shepherd's announcement. We've visited the manger and heard Mary's song. So we celebrate by making a great feast. We buy the best wine and cheese that we can afford, and our ovens are bursting with Christmas delights. And the gifts! The stockings are loaded, the closets bulging with gifts stored up for the day they go under the huge, glorious tree. The silver is polished, the linens are pressed, the china is standing by. And the month of Christmas seems too short for all the singing and celebrating we want to do. This is the way it should be for God's people. Each year should be a better feast than the last, with more of Christmas each year, more food, more presents, more delight. We are growing in our sanctification and learning how to rejoice around our tables with more exuberance, more reverence and fear, more holy awe." (H/T Kendra)
So may the party begin; may we become more and more children of the LIGHT.
P.S. Our advent wreath was purchased many years ago now, but this year the children will participate in advent wreath making at our church. They will be so proud for us to use what they made and feel even more a part of this tradition having done so. We are so blessed to be members of this wonderful church! Here is a tutorial for making your own.
It is Saturday evening and my Sabbath rest has almost begun. It was a day full of work to be able to enter into this rest. And now whether my work feels complete or not, I must rest.
Without rest, we become irritable, weary, depressed; we lose joy, stamina, patience. Our Heavenly Father rested and the world I care for is much, much smaller than His, so surely I can find the way to rest too.
The children are all snug in their beds, clothes and shoes laid out. Baby bags packed with bottles, diapers, and an extra change of clothes (because isn't it always on Sundays they want to leak through their clothes or forget they are potty trained?!) I remembered an extra snack for a quiet car ride home so hubby and I can enjoy the beautiful ride we have. Breakfast is made, the table set, even a slow-cooker dinner is waiting to be turned on. The house is clean and tidied (well, clean according my standards anyway) and we are caught up on laundry.
You may ask why bother with all of this extra work on Saturday, instead of spending it doing X, Y or Z?
It is because I am learning that the Lord's Day is the culmination of our week, as Abraham Heschel writes, "the Sabbath is not for the sake of weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living" (The Sabbathp. 14). And as Christians on this Holy Day, we celebrate the greatest mystery of our faith, Christ rose from the grave. Every Sunday is Easter again. And so, we worship and feast, kneeling to be fed spiritual food.
And amazingly, in a culture always driven for more, on the Sabbath we are told to stop.
Yes, there will still be some work to do: we live in a fallen world. Yes, despite my efforts, it will not be perfect day: we live in a fallen world. But this work was good work. This work will bring PEACE: rather than a morning rushed and busy, we will have calm and togetherness as we prepare for worship. This work will bring REST: rather than cooking and cleaning and folding, we will have time for a walk, a nap, good music, things which restore our souls. This work will bring JOY: a surprise baked into the morning oatmeal, a comfort meal for dinner, time for celebration. This work will bring THANKFULNESS: we can feel gratitude when we have time to delight in the fruit of our labor and in the great gifts we've received.
Norman Wirzba writes that the "Sabbath is a discipline and a practice" (Living the Sabbathp. 20) which means it is something we can get better at. Some weeks, I am not as prepared as this week, but God's grace is so abundant, He still accepts my worship and still restores my soul. Some Sundays, I enter church filled with worry, sleepiness, or nothing at all which is why I never tire of the opening prayer in our church service. Every week we acknowledge before God that He knows all that we bring and we ask for His help to worship aright:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may
perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(How amazing that until Thomas Cranmer, this was a prayer only for the priest as he prepared for worship but now it is prayer that we all pray together.) However, while there is grace and forgiveness for all that we bring to church on Sunday, it does not lessen our need for Sabbath. The practice of Sabbath is an attempt to model or pattern our lives after God's: "Put simply, Sabbath discipline introduces us to God's own ways of joy and delight" (Wirzba p. 21). In Genesis, we see that God worked, rested, and delighted. This too should be our goal as the Commandment teaches,
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20
When I attended my first Lessons and Carols in an Episcopal Church, I was so surprised: where was the Christmas Music?! Over the years I have come to understand more and more the importance of embracing Advent as its own season with its own themes and disciplines and music! These are now some of my favorite hymns of the Church Year. Below is my attempt for our family to listen and learn the hymns and music of Advent (some of the songs are repeated; I just couldn't choose):
The End of Advent by Joseph Bottum of First Things was one of my favorite readings of last advent. I read it again to be encouraged to push back against the urge to race to Christmas without preparation. And I also watched the Advent Conspiracy Videos which urge us to worship and give this Christmas rather than buying...
"Christmas has devoured Advent, gobbled it up with the turkey giblets and the goblets of seasonal ale. Every secularized holiday, of course, tends to lose the context it had in the liturgical year. Across the nation, even in many churches, Easter has hopped across Lent, Halloween has frightened away All Saints, and New Year's has drunk up Epiphany.
Still, the disappearance of Advent seems especially disturbing—for it's injured even the secular Christmas season: opening a hole, from Thanksgiving on, that can be filled only with fiercer, madder, and wilder attempts to anticipate Christmas.
More Christmas trees. More Christmas lights. More tinsel, more tassels, more glitter, more glee—until the glut of candies and carols, ornaments and trimmings, has left almost nothing for Christmas Day. For much of America, Christmas itself arrives nearly as an afterthought: not the fulfillment, but only the end, of the long Yule season that has burned without stop since the stores began their Christmas sales.
Of course, even in the liturgical calendar, the season points ahead to Christmas. Advent genuinely is adventual—a time before, a looking forward—and it lacks meaning without Christmas. But maybe Christmas, in turn, lacks meaning without Advent. All those daily readings from Isaiah, filled with visions of things yet to be, a constant barrage of the future tense: And it shall come to pass . . . And there shall come forth . . . A kind of longing pervades the Old Testament selections read in church over the weeks before Christmas—an anxious, almost sorrowful litany of hope only in what has not yet come. Zephaniah. Judges. Malachi. Numbers. I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
What Advent is, really, is a discipline: a way of forming anticipation and channeling it toward its goal. There's a flicker of rose on the third Sunday—Gaudete!, that day's Mass begins: Rejoice!—but then it's back to the dark purple that is the mark of the season in liturgical churches. And what those somber vestments symbolize is the deeply penitential design of Advent. Nothing we can do earns us the gift of Christmas, any more than Lent earns us Easter. But a season of contrition and sacrifice prepares us to understand and feel something about just how great the gift is when at last the day itself arrives.
More than any other holiday, Christmas seems to need its setting in the church year, for without it we have a diminishment of language, a diminishment of culture, and a diminishment of imagination. The Jesse trees and the Advent calendars, St. Martin's Fast and St. Nicholas' Feast, Gaudete Sunday, the childless crèches, the candle wreaths, the vigil of Christmas Eve: They give a shape to the anticipation of the season...."
Just a reminder about posting for Third Annual Advent Traditions Carnival. The Carnival is such a great way to get new ideas and invite new readers to your blog. Send in your submission soon! I've been working on my posts, you may have noticed a rough draft of one of them was accidentally sent out this week--blogger drives me crazy sometimes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for hosting Kerry!
From A Ten O'Clock Scholar:
"On Saturday, November 28th, A Ten O'Clock Scholar, will host the Third Annual Anglican Advent Traditions Carnival. It will feature posts from Anglican and other liturgical-minded bloggers with ideas, links, resources, thoughts, and more for Advent. Want to see what we did in 2007 and 2008?
Like to contribute? I'm accepting submissions from now until noon Friday, November 27th. Here are the guidelines:
Write a post (or posts, you may submit as many as you like) about how your family celebrates Advent, resources you use, link collections - anything you like, really, but stick to the topic of Advent. Remember it is not Christmas, yet! You do not have to be Anglican to contribute!
Email a link to your post to kerrysblogs (at) gmail (dot) com by noon Friday, Nov. 27th. Please include the post title and your name (or the name you'd like me to use).
Update your post with a link to the Advent Carnival's main page once the Carnival is published on the 28th.
Help us get the word out! Email friends, announce it on your blog, twitter, facebook - whatever!
This Carnival is part of a series of Carnivals of the Church Year hosted by Homemaking Through the Church Year and A Ten O'Clock Scholar."
Almost two months late but heartfelt nonetheless. Thanks to all who have made baby C feel so special. Thank you for the support, encouragement and prayers you give her and us too!
The New Church Year is about to begin so pick up your calendars soon!
I find having a printed calendar is the easiest way to always know what season we are in, the color of the day and when the next feast day is!
I have always loved the Ordo kalendar ($2) from my days of working in the Altar Guild with Sister Mary Paula at St. Mark's Episcopal back in Milwaukee. It has the Lectionary readings on the back and each day is marked with the color and feast day.
But this calendar is the one I use to know the Scripture readings, collect, and even Canticles for each office of morning and evening prayer, as well as for the Lectionary readings too.($12)
But for those looking for a calendar with beautiful images to fit the season and just interested in knowing the major seasons of the church year, you must check out The Story-Formed Calendar. It's lovely!
Of course, you can always use calendars online for free:
Here is a calendar for the daily office readings from the Mission of St. Clare. The entire office of prayers, songs, and Scripture is put together for you in one place.
And here is a calendar for the Lectionary Readings with Collects from Lectionary Page.
This Sunday is last of the year for those of us following the Church Calendar. How fitting to close the year by focusing on Christ's Kingship.
The Lectionary Readings:
John 18:33-37
Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 93
Revelation 1:4b-8
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son,
the King of kings and Lord of lords:
Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin,
may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Special Food for the Day: A King's Cake. I will make a cake shaped like a crown in a bundt pan. We will use white icing and let the kids decorate with gumdrops for jewels (we also do this at Epiphany).
I also like the idea from Catholic Cuisine of preparing a meal fit for a king!
Other Activities and Customs:
Since this feast began in 1925 there are really no traditional activities. This means you can make up your own. There is so much you can do.
Discuss as a family our need for a just and wise King and Christ's unique way of ruling by serving.
Celebrate this day as a sort of New Year's Eve, reflecting on the highlights of the last year and using Scripture readings to lead you to new resolutions for the upcoming year (This is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ordinary Time technically will not end until the Saturday night before Advent begins).
Though we pay special attention to Christ's kingship this day, He is King throughout the year. Discuss how we see Christ as King throughout the liturgy: in Advent, as we await His coming again in glory; in Christmastide, we see the coming of a King of Peace; at Epiphany, Christ adored by other Kings; at Lent and Good Friday perhaps his kingship can seem veiled to us but it is His Holy position that gives his suffering power and at Easter, He is the Triumphant Hero overthrowing evil to restore His Kingdom.
Also spend some time to prepare for Advent, a season of waiting and reflection so that we too may "Come and Adore Him."
“Discussing Death with a Three Year Old and becoming formed by the Story of God”
This past week as I drove my daughter to dance class, we came upon the scene of an accident just moments after it happened: A collision between a large pickup and a deer. Its legs mangled, the enormous five-point buck was heaving itself up the side of the hill,
eyes wild
and brave
and scared.
To see a created beautiful life struggling for existence brought tears to my eyes and I told my little ones to close their eyes as we drove by.
I do not want them to know that sadness, that fear, that suffering. Though it was too late, it's so much easier to say, "Close your eyes, little ones, look away...Yes, pray for the deer, sweet ones, that is good."
But while we want to protect them from tragedy, even the knowledge of it, we know we cannot. They find baby birds in the yard; they know of the death of a friend's newborn; and they hear Scripture--the murder of a brother, the desolation of the world save a remnant on a boat, the death of our Lord.
M, age 3, has been trying to come to terms with this in the last few weeks. It is startling to hear the words put so starkly,
"Mommy, Jesus died?"
He waits only for a quick reassurance and runs off. Then the next day, thinking he caught the mistake, "Wait, Mommy, do you mean Jesus Christ died?" Then the third day, "Mommy, God is always watching me, right?" And then the painful fourth day whispered in my ear, "Mommy, wasn't God the Father watching Jesus?"
Death is all around us; we know it is the fact of our lives, but it is also our human condition to avoid it as much as possible...pain, suffering, death.
Unless, of course, you believe the Christian story, the story of Jesus. With this story, death is the focus, because it is the death of One that brings life and victory for the world. And the power of death is no more. John Donne comes to mind:
DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me....
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
Yes, death is a tragedy, the result of sin, something to be mourned and avoided but, as Christians, we know that is not the complete story.
A story in which we ourselves are characters.
“When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.”—Eugene Peterson, quoted in Living the Liturgical Year (Grossp. 13).
Nothing has made this more apparent for me than living out the ancient Christian practice of the Church Calendar (sometimes called the Christian Calendar, Liturgical Calendar or Year), days centered around the life of Christ. Following this practice we no longer use birthdays, holidays, sports schedules, or our routines to count our time, instead all of these ordinary and special moments become part of God’s Story. In following the Church Calendar, we become a story-formed people,formed by His Victory over death.
The Church Calendar begins each year at Advent (the Four Sundays before Christmas) waiting and preparing our hearts for the Light of the World come as newborn babe, sweet and pure but meant to die, and from there the Church Year builds and builds to its climax at Holy Week. The Gospel story of life, death and resurrection, becomes the orientation for our daily lives.
Time becomes Sacred. The Sacred, holy and mystical, always invite us to ponder the deep, even death, and even when you are three.
Yes, questions of the death of a deer, the Atonement and God’s Sovereignty are difficult to explain to a three year old boy. But they are good questions and have good answers. Answers which can perhaps best be explained to him by orienting his life around them so the answers are his story too.
*Gross, Bobby. Living the Church Year. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2009.
Can you believe Thanksgiving is just two weeks away? There have been so many years that RJ and I were away from family at Thanksgiving, so I'm really looking forward to my mom's homecooking and a break from our normal routine! Hopefully, she'll send us home with leftovers too:-)
Thanksgiving is a fun time for my extended family to be together, to feast, to watch football, fight about politics, religion, the game...So I was looking last year for a way to have us share a bit more of our lives and to give thanks for the good gifts. So here is a simple idea we did last Thanksgiving: a Gratitude or Thanksgiving Tree.
I printed leaf patterns and traced them on fall colored construction paper. The kids then cut them out, I punched a hole in them and strung a little yarn in a loop. I then wrote out each guest for Thanksgiving on each individual leaf. I then set them at the table as place cards. I found an old vase and filled it with stones and small tree branches.
As we enjoyed appetizers, I asked each guest to write something they were thankful for down on their card. I had to hand some people the card but all participated!! After the main course was finished, the children would take each card from a person and I would read their thanksgiving and the children would then hang the tree on the branches. It was simple and fun. Whether or not all present believed the gifts were from God, all were able to find something to be thankful for and I hope our joy was a testimony to them too. If your family might not be game to the idea of sharing, you could always make the leaves ahead of time with the children and then share the kid's thoughts with everyone! Or not read them aloud at all but keep the tree out for people to read on their own.
Here is a goofy picture of me from my mom (please ignore the postpartum belly too!) of our little Gratitude Tree:
Thanksgiving Day Collect from the Book of Common Prayer:
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Since my oldest was a baby, we've read a Christmas book for each week day during the Advent Season. Some years, I've wrapped them, others I haven't had the time and they were still cherished.
Over the years, we've received many beautiful books and I hide them away until Advent. I also go now to my public library and church library before all the good books are gone; don't wait until after Thanksgiving! It doesn't matter to the children that we don't own the book, it is theirs for the day!!
So what am I seeking in our Christmas Books for Advent?
Beautiful and Truthful Illustrations.
Pictures that evoke a sense of the beauty of God and His Creation. Since we want this past event to be believable for them, it is rare for cartoonish illustrations to convey the reality of this miracle. Now that we have more to choose from, I've also passed over books that don't stay true to Mary and Joseph's ethnicity.
Biblical Accuracy
Obviously, a key element but sadly, it's not always the case for books under the children's heading or the focus is not on Christ but ourselves. I want the story time to be fun and captivating but don't want to sacrifice the Truth of the Gospel Story even in small ways.
For my young ones, I also try to stay away from more imaginative tales which may confuse their understanding of the Truth of the Christmas story vs. legend/myth. This is obviously a gray area and as the children grow older it won't be as complex. They will hopefully love, as we do, how cultures make Christ's story their own and will read the stories as artifacts of culture which also contain truth or point to the Truth. (The Legend of the Poinsettia by dePaola, for example). But for now, there are so many good books to choose from, I'd rather skip a book about the legend of the candy cane or how the manger was built or what the mouse in the stable was thinking, as sweet and sentimental as they may be, if it might confuse them as to which stories we believe and which are make-believe.
Books which build the themes of Advent: Preparation, Welcome, Giving, Sacrifice, Anticipation, Salvation, the Innocent...so many!
Books which focus on the events leading up to the birth of Christ.
I try to save books about the 12 days of Christmas and the Wise Men for the Christmas Season and Epiphany. I will also often stop a story at the birth of Christ and save the rest for after Christmas!
Books which set this season apart as a special time of year.
I'm willing to throw in a completely Holiday/Winter Season book for a fun crafting/baking days. Jan Brett's Stories, the Nutcracker, Classic Christmas Stories, the Snowy Day.
Here are some of our favorite Christmas Book for Children for this year:
Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide--this is an Advent book with a reading for everyday. A Christmas Gift last year, it will be our first year reading it.
The Story of Christmas by Jane Ray
This is a wonderful folk artist's rendition with words taken directly from Scripture. The reds, greens, and golds make it magnificent.
Unwrapping the Christmas Crecheby Lisa Flinn and Barbara Younge. This story is from our church's library, while I wouldn't purchase this one, it is especially nice for those families who make a ritual of seting out their creche each year. It walks you through the unpacking of each figure in the nativity scene. The tone conveys a sense of the anticipation of Advent. It ends, "I'm at the creche, too, because I believe. Here I am, ready and waiting!"
The Story of Christmas by Felix Hoffmann. This is from our library and is only available on Amazon used. It is by a Swiss artist. The illustrations are thought-provoking: Mary's face at the Annunciation, the crowds in Bethlehem emphasized through the pencil sketches, Mary's tiredness and body after the birth, the look on the shepherd's faces. The illustrations convey dignity, tenderness, beauty, simplicity--a treasure.
THE CHRIST CHILD AS TOLD BY MATTHEW AND LUKEby Maud and Mishka Petersham, written in 1931,is based on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the KJV. The authors traveled to the Holy Land to create the pictures of the book. The illustrations are reverent and luminous. Quite a classic.
What Can I Give Him? by Debi Gliori and Christina Georgina Rossettiis a book based on the Poem by Christina Rossetti. "In the bleak midwinter frosty wind made moan..."
Another book of poetry which breaks my rule of books which take on an animal character in the story! The basis for the poems is the Folk Legend that on Christmas Eve all of the beasts were blessed with the power of speach. But poetry allows for this type of imagination and these poems are beautiful and powerful. Each animal speaks according to his nature:
Cow
He came to conquer death
And yet his hands are small.
To warm Him in his stall,
I breathe my clover breath.
Horse
On Christmas Eve, the night unique,
They say we beasts find tongues to speak,
Yet at this crib I am so stirred
That, starring, I can say no word.
Lines from the Camel's verse after saying his rider's throat is parched after journeying through the desert,
"Who'd dream a Child could bring
End to long thirst?"
Goat
I am a beast of beard and twisted horn
That some think wicked. Now that Christ is born...
Come, let us kneel beside the barley cart
That He may choose which are pure in heart.
Other Fun Holiday Books:
Jan Brett's book set during the winter: The Hat, The Mitten, Twas the Night before Christmas Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingills Wilder The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats for your first real snowy day with themed "Snow" activities and food
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg and watch the film!
For more ideas, visit Elizabeth Foss's Advent Selections here and here.
I'd love to hear of your families treasured reads. Leave a comment or link below!
Outside my window... it is a lovely, sunny warm day! The grass, still green, is covered with pretty fall leaves. (This also reads…we didn’t get the time to rake this weekend!!)
I am thankful for...a last minute call from friends last night, inviting us all to a park to enjoy the 72 degree weather and a bucket of fried chicken. Our children continued to play together even as it grew dark.
Towards a Real Education...M has all new learning activities for the Letter F this week.
To Live the Liturgy... Thinking about Advent!! I find I need to start planning now since the first Sunday of Advent is Thanksgiving Weekend. I’d like to ponder the idea of Welcome this Advent. As we welcome the babe in the manger, how it builds in the ability to welcome the weak, the impoverished, the stranger, the beautiful in ourselves and in our neighbor.
From the kitchen... We started the day with a crustless spinach quiche. Don’t you find the day goes better after a hearty breakfast? I love to start my families day with something warm and inviting.
For Lunch, we had PBJ with Strawberry-Banana Preserves we canned this Summer!
Tonight Homemade Pizza!!
I am reading...The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald for my Book Club; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with the children; and just finishing up Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church by Robert E. Webber for myself.
My husband (thanks!!) bought me Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross (2009) on his travels to Calvin College last week. I can’t wait to dig into it this Advent. The introduction was wonderful.
“…we want to inhabit the still-unfolding Story of God and have it inhabit and change us. And this is exactly what the ancient liturgical habit of living the Christian year helps us to do.”
I am hearing...children playing outside, baby munching on pretzels and chattering by my side.
One of my favorite things… I’m sipping some strong black tea to gear up for the rest of the day.
Bringing beauty to my home…Our Late Fall, Thanksgiving Nature Table. Here is where I display seasonal Picture Books, the kid’s nature finds, and attempt to show off the glory of His Creation.
A few plans for the rest of the week: With the children…the Philly Zoo, Art Day with G’s K12 Co-op, Friday Co-op. My project--Tackling the laundry area in the basement—hanging an indoor clothes line, setting up a table for folding, trying to make it not feel so dingy J
