Fresh ideas to elevate this special season and keep it liturgically focused and Christ-centered, as you prepare for the Child’s coming at Christmas.
Last year, I shared seven ways you can live Advent more intentionally with your Catholic family, including traditions like the Jesse Tree, Advent wreath, “Giving Manger,” Advent reading and more. I consider these my family’s Advent-living staples, but ways to celebrate the Advent season are practically endless.
Here are five fresh ideas to elevate your Advent and keep it liturgically focused and Christ-centered, as you prepare for the Child’s coming at Christmas:
1. Decorate (and even dress) liturgically. Do you like to put up your Christmas tree during the Advent season? If so, consider keeping the tree trimmings simple to reflect the season of waiting and preparation. We like to string thick purple ribbon around our tree during Advent. The liturgical color violet reminds us of preparation, sacrifice and confession. On Christmas Eve, the purple ribbon comes down to make room for a lot more decoration and glamour. You can also wear purple to Mass, switching up the wardrobes to rose on the Third Sunday of Advent — Gaudete (Rejoice!) Sunday — to celebrate the joy of Christ’s imminent coming.
2. Bless the Christmas tree. We all decorate our Christmas trees, but how many families take the time to bless them? Blessing the Christmas tree shows gratitude to God and sets it apart as something special in the home. This is a great thing to do as a family before or after a meal. In our home, we love reading and discussing the story of St. Boniface and the Christmas tree before the blessing. You can find a prayer for the blessing of a Christmas tree at the USCCB.org website.
3. Pray Advent prayers. We love to pray the St. Andrew Christmas novena, which begins on his feast day, Nov. 30, and concludes on Christmas Eve, so it’s not your typical nine-day novena. The St. Andrew Christmas novena is recited 15 times daily for a particular intention and goes like this: 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, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. Another set of wonderful prayers unique to the Advent season are the O Antiphons, traditional, scriptural prayers that are said in the week leading up to Christmas Eve. The prayers feature seven titles of the Messiah found in the Book of Isaiah and are prayed during vespers … but can also be prayed in your home. They are so rich in beauty and meaning. You can find the O Antiphons online at EWTN.com.
4. Remember saint days … and make them fun! In my previous article about living the Advent season, I mentioned the feasts of St. Nicholas, St. Lucy and Our Lady of Guadalupe. But there are so many more saint days in December. Celebrate St. Juan Diego’s feast day with a vase of roses on the table (to remember the miraculous roses in his tilma) and a dinner of Mexican food. Celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Loreto by making your gingerbread houses that day (after sharing the story of the holy house). And don’t forget the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception with Mass, the Rosary, and white attire or food to remember Our Lady’s purity. Be sure to check out festive ideas at PartyLikeaSaint.com.
5. Celebrate ‘Bambinelli’ (Baby Jesus) Sunday. My children were ecstatic the first year we did this Italian custom at our parish, after my simple request to our priest, to which he happily agreed. In Italy, Bambinelli Sunday takes place on the Third Sunday of Advent, when families bring the baby Jesus figure from their nativity sets to have them blessed. In our home, that blessed baby Jesus figurine is then hidden away until Christmas and is placed in the Nativity scene with the other figurines, while we sing Away in a Manger.