Lucia Morning. Carl Larsson, 1908.
By the beginning of December, stores have filled up with the ribbons and wrappings of the commercial Christmas season. Meanwhile, as Catholics we are ushering in a new liturgical year. It is during this Advent season that we focus on the prayerful joy of preparation for the coming of Our Lord. Maintaining the distinction between the Advent and Christmas seasons can be a challenge in our classrooms where we find that our students are already full of Christmas spirit and counting down the days until Christmas vacation.
Although Advent is not quite time to celebrate the birth of our Lord, it needn’t be austere! ‘Tis a season rich in special feast days and full of its own special traditions. While Advent may mark just over a third of our school year complete, it is also a new beginning, so what better time for some new beginnings in our classrooms as well? Consider adding a new tradition to your Advent preparations and some moments of beauty in the spirit of this liturgical season to these final days before students leave for the break. Here are some ideas to get you started, but as always our best resources are our fellow teachers. Consider discussing your own Advent traditions at a faculty meeting or around the coffee station in the break room!
Prepare with traditions, old and new
- Place an empty manger in a prominent location in the school. Encourage students to place a piece of straw, raffia, or shredded paper in the manger for each act of kindness or sacrifice as a gift to the baby Jesus. By the last day of school before the vacation, the newborn Lord will have a soft bed on which to lay His head!
- Set up an Advent tree. Provide each student with a paper ornament on which to write a prayer or sacrifice as an offering to the Child Jesus in preparation for His birth.
- With a Jesse Tree, we use Biblical images as a narrative to trace Jesus’ lineage in an embodied way. Placing each ornament on the tree after reading the relevant Scripture helps us to remember that God’s plan for our salvation has always been in motion.
- Introduce the O Antiphons to your students. Like a Jesse Tree, the O Antiphons reveal the connection between the Old and New Testaments, highlighting the ancient imagery that prepares us for the coming of the Messiah.
- Prepare your nativity set, but fill it with only the animals. Allow Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wisemen to travel slowly throughout Advent before arriving at the stable. The wisemen can even wait until your Epiphany celebration to arrive.
- Build your school’s repertoire of Advent songs. We’re all eager for the Christmas carols, but the hymns of the Advent season are a beautiful part of Church tradition not to be missed!
Prepare with the Saints
- December 4 is St Barbara’s Day. Legend tells us that St. Barbara was imprisoned in a tower near a cherry tree. She was able to cut a branch and water it a little each day. The branch bloomed just a few days before Christmas, shortly before she was martyred. In keeping with the German tradition of Barbarazweig, try cutting branches of a tree that flowers in early spring and keep it in water in a warm room, misting it every few days. The branch should bloom just around Christmas Day.
The Feast of St Nicholas. Jan Havicksz Steen, 1665-68.
- December 6 brings us St. Nicholas Day. Read a story of St. Nicholas that focuses on the great saint himself rather than on his connection to Santa Claus. One good option is The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Anselm Grun.
- On December 7 we remember Saint Ambrose, the patron saint of beekeepers and candlemakers. This is a great day to decorate a Christ candle that can be placed in the center of the Advent wreath and lighted during the Christmas season.
- On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, consider what gifts we can offer to Mary, the Mother of our Lord, born without sin.
- Just a few days apart, on December 9 and 12 respectively, we celebrate St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Read the story of Juan Diego and reflect on the miracle at Guadalupe by rendering a rose. Remind your students that the goal of rendering is not to create the most artistic picture, but to capture as much of the reality of God’s Creation as possible. It is a perfect time to pause and remember that the Lord is the Master Teacher who speaks to us through the beauty of His Creation! Read more about the fruits of nature journaling and rendering here.
- The title Our Lady of Loreto, which we remember on December 10, refers to the house in which Mary was born and where the angel Gabriel visited her. What better day to build a gingerbread house?
- Celebrate the Feast of St Lucy on December 13 with some Lussekatter, traditional Scandinavian saffron-flavored buns.
May this Advent season fill our hearts, halls, and classrooms with prayerful and joyful anticipation!