Family Advent Traditions Begin some new family traditions, and let go of those that no longer have meaning for you. Here are some new traditions to help deepen your family’s spirituality as you celebrate this season: Make decorating your Christmas tree a soulful

event. Light candles, play music, put some cider on the stove to warm, and let the answering machine pick up calls. When you string the lights, talk about the power of light in your lives and how we are each beacons of positive light in

the world. When the cord becomes tangled and you’re about to lose control, take a deep breath, have a sip of cider, and begin again. You might even roll out your sleeping bags and sleep snuggled under the newly decorated tree.

Prepare a gift food basket for grandparents or other special relatives and friends. Include their favorite treats—especially something they would not buy for themselves.

Write a letter or make a card for each family member, listing 10 things you love about them. This is a gift of your time, effort and love, and will be kept and remembered for a lifetime. On Christmas morning sit around the tree and read them out loud.

Experience a new worship tradition during the holidays. Attend a children’s pageant, a choir concert, a bell-ringing service, or an outdoor Living Nativity scene.

Get the whole family outside together as often as possible. Nature reminds us of our place in the world, fills us with wonder appropriate to the season and helps restore our souls—and it’s free!

Take a family walk, have a sledding party or marshmallow roast.

Make an Advent wreath. Pray, read Scripture, and talk about its meaning. Your children will delight in the event, no matter their age.

Don’t forget the critters! Make “ornaments” for the birds using pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed.

Leave a few carrots for the bunnies.

Plan Family Nights. Mark dates on your calendar when your family will spend time together to see Christmas lights, write holiday cards together, or gather around while you read a favorite holiday story.

Try to keep TV off during the holidays. Seeing all the advertisements can make you anxious about what you might have forgotten or didn’t buy. It can

also cause your kids to want more, and more, and more stuff.

Stop by church with your kids during a quiet time when there is no service. Explain the symbols, talk about the upcoming holiday and its significance, and think about those who have prayed in this holy place before you.

Encourage family spirit by creating opportunities and rituals for sibling cooperation. Maybe the kids are in charge of planning a party for their friends at your hone, making secret gifts as a team, or concocting a festive breakfast menu.

Who needs a fancy dinner with all the trimmings this year? Instead make a feast out of leftovers or order take-out. The atmosphere of joy and ease is what your kids will remember.

Save all those wonderful photographs you receive in Christmas cards. Come January 1, bring out one photo a day, place it in the center of your kitchen table, and remember the people pictured with prayers for their peace and joy in the New Year. Mimi Doe, the founder of Spiritual Parenting.com and the award-winning author of Nurturing Your Teenager’s Soul, Busy But Balanced, 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting, and co-author of Don’t Worry, You’ll Get In. Mimi's free newsletter, Spiritual Parenting, has more than 30,000 subscribers from around the world. Sign up on the website: www.SpiritualParenting.com. (Adapted).

Do the holidays at your house have to be perfect? The gifts wrapped just so… the decorations hung on the tree like this… the Christmas cookies decorated exactly right. Sound familiar? The holidays can bring on a lot of extra pressure—if you let them. To avoid that intensity, be flexible. If traditions turn out a little differently this year, that’s OK. If the kids don’t hang the ornaments on the tree just right, let it go. Instead, focus on enjoying your family and friends in the spirit of the season. www.FamilyFirst.net

When we weave ceremonies, celebrations, and traditions throughout our children’s days, we give them a feeling of predictability, a

comforting connection with home and family, and a sense of the sacred. Intimate family celebrations help us slow down, come fully into the present moment, and escape the frenzy of the world “out there.” Kids raised with meaningful traditions seem to have a sense of spirituality and wonder, a connection with nature, and a strong relationship with their families. It’s a safe guess that many of their childhood traditions will live on in future generations. Mimi Doe, the founder of Spiritual Parenting.com and the award-winning author of Nurturing Your Teenager’s Soul, Busy But Balanced, and 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting.

Provided by The Marriage and Family Life Office, Diocese of Columbus Also available online at www.FamilyLife.colsdioc.org

Who “Invented” Advent? The easy answer to that question is, we, the Church, did. The feasts and seasons of the liturgical year all developed from the Church’s desire to remember, celebrate, and live the great mysteries of our faith. The answer gets more complicated when we realize that these seasons originated centuries ago and developed independently in different places, spreading, combining, and sometimes dying out. Before we can

talk about Advent, we have to talk about Christmas (obviously), and (less obviously) Epiphany. We know for certain that Christians in Rome were celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25 in the year 336. This date may have been chosen as a Christian response to a pagan Roman festival honoring the “unconquered Sun-God,” from clues detected in Scripture, or both. Epiphany may have begun in response to pagan celebrations in the Eastern church, probably in Egypt, and celebrated not only the coming of the Magi, but also Jesus’ birth, his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, and his baptism. Epiphany had spread to some churches in the West, particularly Milan, modern-day France, and Spain, before Christmas had begun to be celebrated in those places. In some places it was as important a day for celebrating baptism as Easter. Which brings us to Advent. The first sure indications of a time of preparation come from Bishop Perpetuus of Tours in Gaul (France) in the fifth century, when he issued directives for fasting three days a week from the feast of St. Martin (November 11) to Christmas. Some scholars believe that this may have been rooted in an older practice of preparing for Baptism at Epiphany, just as Lent originated as a time of preparation for Baptism at Easter. In Rome the first indications of an Advent season come from four sets of Sunday mass prayers and readings that anticipate the celebration of Christmas. This was a festive period, in contrast to the fasting in Gaul, but some of the penitential nature of the season spread to the Roman celebration, such as purple vestments and the omission of the Gloria. The length of Advent varied for centuries, usually between four and six weeks. By the 11th century most of the West accepted Rome’s practice of four weeks. The important question, though, is how we keep Advent in such a way that prepares us to rejoice in the Incarnation of Christ and leads us to wait in joyful hope for his coming at the end of time. Victoria M. Tufano in USCatholic, December 2007

An Advent Prayer Lord Jesus,

Master of both the light and the darkness,

send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do, seek quiet space

to hear your voice each day. We, who are anxious over many things, look forward to your coming among us. We, who are blessed in so many ways,

long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We, whose hearts are heavy, seek the joy of your presence.

We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen. - Henri. J. M. Nouwen

The countdown to Christmas has begun. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, yuletide fever has kicked into high gear. As Christmas approaches, it’s

easy to let the busyness and events of the season steal away our family togetherness. So sit down with your calendar today and schedule

time for just you and your kids. Lock in a few nights for cookie baking, tree decorating or whatever holiday traditions you have or want to begin. Let the festivities of the season bring you and your family closer.

www.FamilyFirst.net

Week #1 Advent is a time to STAY AWAKE In the darkness of winter we wait for the light to come—the LIGHT of the world, Jesus Christ. We keep our eyes open to that which has already been given to us and anticipate the one to come: Emmanuel.

Week #2 Advent is also a time of HOPE We hope for the Lord’s presence here on earth and we recall Jesus’ birth. God so loved us that He sent His only Son to live among us. This hope is the source of our prayer, of our gratitude, and of our joy.

Week #3 Advent is a time of JOY This joy is rooted in the knowledge that God has loved us so much that He sent a Savior to us, in order that we ourselves might be saved.

Week #4 Advent is a time of ANNOUNCING THE GOOD NEWS No matter what our circumstances, God has come to earth in the form of a child. That child, Jesus Christ, has the answer to the world’s sorrows and despair. Let us share this Good News!

Provided by The Marriage and Family Life Office, Diocese of Columbus Also available online at www.FamilyLife.colsdioc.org