Advent Activities

Since I am starting to gather my Advent activities in one place for my own use, I thought it might be helpful to write about some specific activities my family participates in.

Let me preface my first posting by giving you a little background info. If you are not familiar with the Orthodox Church's fasting periods, our Nativity Fast begins on November 15th and is a 40 day fast that ends on Christmas. The word Advent is the Latin word for "coming". We Orthodox use other Latin terms, such as "Trinity", so I personally have no problem using the word Advent when speaking about this time period. Here's a great article on that topic.

Instead of writing one long (and possibly overwhelming) post about everything my family does in our home, I thought it would be more helpful to post about one at a time. To me, the best way to do this is to first write about the activities that may take longer to get ready, in case anyone would like to incorporate them this year.

Activity #1 40 Books in 40 Days

One fun way to involve my children in our nightly activities is to have a children's book about the Nativity Season for each night. In our house my husband and I wrap each book individually and place them under our tree on November 15th. (More about our tree later). Each night our 3 children take a turn picking a book and unwrapping it. Then we read the book aloud together, and the book is placed in a basket so that the children can read it again during the rest of the season. There are some books that are designated for special nights, like the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos, or St. Nicholas, and I do this by writing on the wrapping paper, so we don't forget!

There are several ways you can do this activity, and I encourage you to make it YOUR tradition. If you don't put your tree up until later in the season, you can put your books in a big basket. If it is overwhelming, you don't have to wrap the books at all.

I will share some of my favorite book selections with you, but don't feel the need to duplicate them in your household. You may be surprised at how many you already have, if you gather all your Christmas books in one place! Some families may want to include secular Christmas books about Santa Claus, reindeer, etc. Because every family has their own beliefs on this topic, I will only share my top choices that are religious in nature, and some that are specifically written from an Orthodox point of view. I have linked as many books as possible to websites where you can take a closer look:

The Nativity of Our Lord by Sister Elayne (This is one of the books from The 12 Great Feasts for Children)

The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple by Sister Elayne (we read this book on the feast, which falls on November 21st.)

The Saint Who Became Santa Claus

Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate (there is also a board-book version for toddlers)

Baby in a Manger by Julie Stiegemeyer

On This Special Night By Claire Freedman

The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats (also available as a board book)

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

What Star Is This? by Joseph Slate

The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi (We read this book on the Feast of St. Nicholas, Dec. 6th)

The Usborne Advent Nativity Book (This book has pop out characters for each day that make the nativity scene. It starts on Dec. 1st)

North Star: St. Herman of Alaska by Dorrie Papademetrious (read on Dec. 13th)

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo

Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell

Tonight You Are My Baby: Mary's Christmas Gift by Jeannine Q. Norris

Please feel free to add any great books from your collection by leaving a comment!

We Are One

Tonight was quite a night. At Vespers this evening, our church had its annual visit from a group of Methodists, who bring their confirmation class to see an Orthodox church. I always enjoy this visit, because after the service our priest (my Dad), allows them to ask questions about the church, our faith, or even about the "weird" pictures we have at the front of our church! I always learn something new by listening in. Someone always asks the question, "What's the difference between your church (Antiochian) and Russian or Greek Orthodox churches?" My father always explains that except for language or minute cultural differences, we are all the same. We are all one. We are all Orthodox. I always feel so proud, and truly do feel like all of "us Orthodox" are one family.

This hit home two-fold tonight. We have had storms the last few days, but during Vespers the weather took a turn, and I noticed several people, including my mother, glance down and then walk briskly into the Narthex with cell phones. I found out that three tornadoes had been sighted a little south of the church (where my house is!) and were headed towards us. The service kept going, but I could see nervous faces, especially the faces of the mothers who were there with young children. During the petitions, we responded "Lord have mercy" more firmly, and with a sense of urgency. Eventually the weather calmed, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately we found out that during Vespers our sister church a little west of us was hit and the roof collapsed right onto the altar! No one was hurt, but I was filled with such a sense of grief for my brothers and sisters in Christ. We truly are a family. Please pray for the parishioners of St. Elizabeth in Murfreesboro, TN. God grant them peace, and a quick recovery from the damage.