Family Advent Celebrations

Do you ever get the feeling that you are placed on a catapult every year and get launched from Halloween straight into Christmas?  The image that pops into my head is comical.  As I am flying through the air, I see Advent wreaths, candles, Jesse Trees, and all the beautiful decorations and prayers that go with them in a whirlwind. 

Wild imaginings aside, it really does seem like even the most well-meaning families are lured every year, into bypassing the rich and prayerful season of Advent, and focus exclusively on the ever popular season of shopping. But, it doesn’t have to be that way!  Families can choose to focus on the real reason for the season. 

What does Advent mean anyway?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “arrival” or “appearance”.  In the Christian calendar, Advent is a special season consisting of the four weeks before the Church celebrates the Nativity, or the birth, the arrival, of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This year the first Sunday of Advent is December 3. 

Prepare the Way of the Lord! 
 
If you get Lenten vibes when you read or hear about Advent, you are not wrong. Both seasons call the faithful to a period of prayer and penance before a significant event in the life of the Church. During Lent, Christians prepare for the Triduum and our Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. During Advent, the Church calls the faithful to prepare for the coming of Jesus; as an infant and also in the Second Coming.  Advent is a period of time to make our hearts, our souls, and our homes, ready for Jesus.  

There are two popular devotions for families to enter prayerfully into the season.

The Family Advent Wreath

During a secular "Christmas Market" Stella Maris Center participated in and where I was promoting the Advent Wreath devotions,  passers-by mentioned they remembered seeing the wreath in Church as children and were surprised to find out it is also a homey devotion. It’s true, all Catholic Churches and some mainline Protestant Churches have some representation of the Advent wreath, however, most people don’t realize this is a beautiful devotion that can be done very easily and inexpensively at home too. It’s a great way to keep ourselves focused on Jesus..

There are many differnt types of Advent wreaths.  The most common are made of a circle of greenery that’s fresh or artificial.  The evergreen circle symbolizes God; who has no beginning and no end. The next notable feature of the Advent wreath is the four candles, which correspond to the four weeks or Sundays of Advent.  There are three purple candles and one pink candle. There is special significance to each one. The Catholic Church uses the color purple to signify seasons of penitence, when we pray, go to Confession and ask God to forgive our sins. Pink symbolizes joy.  The wreath can then be decorated with pinecones and other seasonal items. The Advent prayers that correspond to each week are available in a number of different books, cards and devotionals.

The Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is another beautiful family devotion during Advent that is done daily.  The Jesse Tree is made with a natural or artificial branch on which ornaments, representing Jesus’ family tree, are hung. These include Jesse the Father of King David, and proceeds on through all the generations leading up to the birth of Jesus.  Some families use a pine or fir tree (aka Christmas tree) as their Jesse Tree. 

The Jesse Tree devotion involves the daily reading of scripture passages and the placing of the ornaments representing the scriptures on the tree.  The ornaments include items such as an Ark for Noah, the Ten Commandments tablets for Moses, a Star of David, etc. 

Books and devotionals which include the prayers and printable cut-outs of the daily symbols are available at Catholic bookstores and online. 

Whether you choose the Family Advent Wreath or a Jesse Tree,  you can slow down the pre-Christmas whirlwind and recapture the real meaning of the season. Happy Advent!