I did not grow up with any kind of Advent observance. My mom had an Advent wreath on the dining room table with the candles in it, those same candles year after year because they were never lit. I thought it was a decoration. I knew it was advent because they said so in church but I have no recollection of its recognition as a season to be kept.
It was only after I had children and experienced a deep desire to know more about my faith and to practice it well that I discovered Advent for the genuine gift it is to the faithful. I started researching the meaning behind the season and traditions that are associated with it and the result was my really committing to living a more liturgically aware life. I even started a website dedicated to the observance of Advent with small children (O Night Divine). If you click over there be warned, it’s woefully outdated in terms of links but the information is still spot on.
Those traditions that I began when I had a house full of small children are mostly now put away, done up in lavender, waiting for the next generation but some still linger. The kids who are home will leave out their shoes the night before St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6th) and I will fill them with treats. We still light the wreath every Sunday night and read the prayers to accompany the lighting. I still make sure they know about the O Antiphons and the Ember Days (where we put out bird feeders made from suet and seed).
Quite frankly, I’m wondering when it will stop.
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