***scroll to the bottom of the page to access your free Advent Sheet Music***
Want to see what traditions we are planning for our family this Advent? Read on for my suggestions below.
I’ll just come out and say it – I have a hard time following through with projects.
Homework, essays, lessons, performances, even novenas and the daily rosary – I’ve always struggled with executing my resolutions as I’ve planned.
Most of the time I lose focus and allow myself to get sucked into distractions that take away from my main goal.
But this Advent – armed with a few awesome planning resources, spiritual reading, a binder, some notebooks and a printer – I’m resolved to make it my best Advent yet!
A liturgical & spiritual Catholic family Advent planner
I love the fact that the liturgical year begins at a time when everything seems to be slowing down – leaves are falling, weather is getting colder, days have gotten shorter and yet the semester (for all you students/homeschoolers) is almost over. Advent marks this new beginning!
I knew that I needed to write my resolutions down properly, so I opted for Lena’s (@joyfilledfamily) Advent Planner.
It’s quite amazing – a “big picture” Advent plan, an examination, a weekly resolution tracker, a liturgical planner, a monthly calendar and family planner.
So excited to finally implement these activities!
Traditional Catholic Advent family customs solidified
We decided on adding a few new things this year, but we hope to do the following:
Catholic Advent Calendar
We were given this beautiful, simple Advent Calendar/spiritual Christmas crib from another homeschooling traditional Catholic family. Dumb Ox publications has some GREAT activities for children. This will be our third Advent using it, the children really enjoy opening the flaps and reading the devotions. I believe this is actually taken from an old pre-Vatican II source as there is an older imprimatur.
It also includes the St. Andrew Novena prayer at the bottom which we will be saying daily 15 times.
Advent Wreath with Candles
The Advent wreath is one of many customs the Catholic church “baptized” into its tradition, and while Protestant in origin the symbolism is beautiful…you’d be hard-pressed to find a traditional Catholic church that doesn’t have it displayed prominently during Advent. Whatever wreath you use, make sure to use beeswax candles!
The circular shape of the wreath is a symbol of eternity, and the greenery symbolizes hope and renewal. The colors of the typically-used violet and rose candles symbolize penance and joy, respectively.
Each candle also represents one of the four weeks of Advent, and one thousand years of the four thousand years that passed between Adam and Eve to Christ’s coming — such a long time to wait for the Messias!
The first candle also recalls the Patriarchs; the second candle recalls the Prophets; the third candle recalls St. John the Baptist; and the final candle recalls Our Lady. (Excerpt taken from fisheaters.com)
I highly recommend using this prayer for blessing the Advent wreath and weekly prayers.
St. Andrew Christmas Novena
This novena is incredibly special as it is one of the very few of its kind that – instead of the usual nine days of prayer – goes on for 25 days. It is said 15 times per day – it can be done consecutively, or you can break up the prayers through the day.
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 the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
Imprimatur + Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York, New York, FEbruary 6 1897
Using St. Therese’s idea for “sacrifice beads”, I DIYed these beautiful beads I got from Hobby Lobby to make a St. Andrew chaplet. I could have gone with wood, but the glitter was calling to me. My children LOVE it, it’s the perfect size for little hands and they love it.
Sacrifice manger
This is a time-tested tradition where children, after making a good act or sacrifice, get to put a piece of “straw” (this year we’re using pine shavings that were leftover from when we got our baby chicks) into the manger, while the goal is to make as many sacrifices as possible so the Christ Child will have a “soft” place to sleep through the night.
Jesse Tree Devotional
This is a solidly traditional Catholic Advent/Jesse Tree devotional for young children, also available through Joyfilled Family. We were going through the Baltimore Catechism the months previous, but we will completely replace that with this since this devotional includes passages from Scripture in terms that young children (my oldest are 4 now) can understand along with examples and anecdotes from the beloved Spirago Catechism. It also includes printable ornaments. I printed them and inserted each “ornament” into an Advent calendar box we were gifted. The children love opening a box each day and seeing with anticipation what story we get to read for that day! It sure beats stuffing them full of candy, which we’re foregoing anyway this is a penitential season!
Christmas Tree (on final week of Advent)
It’s hard to find good Christmas trees close to the end of December but we prefer waiting than having our tree dry out and creating a fire hazard! You have to source a really good location for Christmas trees if you choose to wait like we do because many times the only ones that are left are dried out and not the most beautiful. Since I still have littles, all my Christmas trees have historically only been 2/3 of the way decorated. I just couldn’t bring myself to decorate the bottom when I knew I would have to be fending off multiple small children the whole time. Set yourself up for success!
Stockings for St. Nicholas
We don’t do “Santa Claus”…at least not in the way the world does. Did you know Santa Claus came from the Dutch “Sinterklaas”, meaning “St. Nicholas”? Instead we tell our children that we hang our stockings up just to see what St. Nicholas might bring them on his feast day! We also make sure to tell them 1) he is not a fat man in a red suit, 2) he does not ride a sleigh with reindeer 3) he is in Heaven and 4) he most CERTAINLY did not have a wife…St. Nicholas We hang stockings on our fireplace mantle and fill them before Dec. 6 with cozy slippers and other cold weather accessories. We remember the story of St. Nicholas (a bishop from the 3rd century) taken from Butler’s Lives of the Saints:
“A citizen of Patara had lost all his money, and had moreover to support three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty ; so the wretched man was going to give them over to prostitution. This came to the ears of Nicholas, who thereupon took a bag of gold and, under cover of darkness, threw it in at the open window of the man’s house. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl, and she was soon duly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor, and overwhelmed him with his gratitude.“
I do not include the part about the prostitution for my young children (for obvious reasons), instead I say that the girls were going to be taken away, and that St. Nicholas saved them by putting some coins in their stockings.
Procession for Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12
My husband and I have a special devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, as unbeknownst to us when we were courting, we were both baptized in churches named after Our Lady of Guadalupe, almost 200 miles away from each other!
We purchased an exact replica (proportionally)on canvas of the original tilma from the church where I was baptized and I couldn’t believe how faithful it is in proportion and color to the original.
We use this replica to process down our neighborhood with our children, singing traditional songs to Our Lady in Spanish.
It’s incredible the silent witness processions have on children – it instills in them a love of the Church, courage to profess our faith without human respect and zeal for souls. As politically correct as our society is, I encourage you to try processing down your neighborhood with a banner of Our Lady this year, it will be a test in humility and courage to preach Christ to all!
White Cake for the Immaculate Conception
This is a holy day of obligation, Dec. 8th. This will be the first year I try my hand at making a cake, but I thought the white would be beautiful to represent the stainless soul of Our Lady. Don’t forget the day before is traditionally a day of fast/abstinence, like any Friday throughout the year – two small collations, one meal, no meat the whole day.
Feast of the Holy Innocents, Dec. 28th – visit an abortion clinic!
I understand the good in moms diligently doing their duty at home, quietly and away from the public eye – HOWEVER, how will the world be converted unless they see the goodness we are bringing by our own examples?? This is the time to be “radical” (that term is so overused) but truly, I would love to see more moms be present for these vulnerable young women.
Epiphany house blessing + Religious presents, Jan. 6
We will be giving the children religious gifts on the day of Epiphany to celebrate the Three Wise Men coming to bring gifts to Our Lord.
Also to be done on Epiphany is the yearly Epiphany house blessing with chalk – see details here.