As a Sahm at Work, the planning for most holiday traditions rest on my shoulders. The week or two before any major holiday, is such a time of scrambling for ideas, for organization of a tradition, shopping and cooking. I thought I'd post a few ideas here, traditions that we have done from year to year, with the hope of bringing home the real reasons for these holidays. Every kid gets to know Santa or the Easter Bunny with all the commercialization, but does every kid really understand why we have these great holidays?
Pope John Paul II the Great, called the family, the Domestic Church. And it is. It's where our children learn the first lessons about God. For these holidays, we get to be the first to introduce to our children to the realities of Jesus' Birth, Death, and Resurrection. Filling these days with traditions that you might develop in your home helps to bring these realities to life for children who need a visual representation to understand it all. For the Lent and Easter season, we have developed a few traditions that help to bring the gospel stories to life for the children, because they live it as well.
For Lent, everyone must give up candy, and choose one other thing, either to give up, or to do. Many times, I have been asked by one of the children why we give up something during Lent. Depending on the age of the child, most times, I can simply say that Jesus gave up so much for us on the cross, He died for us. We can live like Jesus more so at Lent, and give up our favorite things. For my older kids, they can understand a bit better that we have attachments that we can learn to do without, so to better follow God's will.
This year, it was interesting to see what the kids choose for themselves, knowing what they were attached to.
Thinker gave up all juice. She simply wanted to drink milk or water for all of Lent.
Mr. Carefree gave up teasing his sisters, with the added bonus of playing with them more.
Serious gave up her favorite Blessed Mother doll that she slept with nightly.
Entertainer gave up her Minnie Mouse that she loved to play with and sleep with.
The Babe, well, Babe is working on not saying 'No' so much to Mom!
I have often thought of buying one of those life sized crown of thorns to use as a centerpiece at our table just to remind us all of the season each meal....haven't bought it yet...Also in past years, we have made a paper chain that drapes around the table, writing an intention on each chain link. After dinner, we rip a link off, and say a prayer for that intention....it helps to have a visual measure for the children, of how much time is left to Lent. You also can get one of those rice bowls from your parish, and each time the family sacrifices or fasts, put that money you would have spent in the rice bowl. At the end of Lent, bring your rice bowl back to your parish, and you have just taught your children to Fast, Pray and Give Alms. The key pieces of Lent!
Sometime during Lent we all make visits to the Confessional. My oldest two have gone several times now at school, by their own initiative. Gotta love Catholic schools that reinforce all that the Sahm at Work is trying to accomplish! Reflecting on our own weaknesses and limitations gives us a true clear vision of ourselves, and why Christ had to die for us. It also gives us motivation for change. To begin change, confession is a BIG starting point. The Catholic Church recommends that we go to confession at least once a year, especially at Easter time, but going more often helps to give us that needed humility and surrender to God's will.
This week is the time for planning for Holy Week. This is what we've got planned.
Good Friday: We fast and abstain from meat. Between the hours of noon and 3 pm, the hours of Christ's suffering and death, we remain quiet, talking only in whispers. No TV, no music, no electronics, no phone calls. (Our parish ususally has some kind of service, but with little ones, it can be difficult to attend.) Usually we print out coloring pages online of the stations of the cross for an activity. Some of my older kids are truly good artists and they can create their own masterpiece of a station without a printout. At night, HH and I usually watch the Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. It brings it all home for sure. That movie tells the story unlike I have ever seen. It touches your heart.
Holy Saturday: We decorate eggs and Easter cutout cookies with all the variation of sprinkles I have accumulated in the pantry over the past year. It's the best. Our kitchen table gets covered in a sticky mess, with frosting and candy bits, but we can't eat any cookies just yet, we still wait for Easter Sunday!
Easter Sunday: All the kids have special new dresses or shirts/ties for this great day. Some of my girls love to wear white gloves and their Easter hats....just little ways to be different and more beautiful this day, above all days. We begin to sing Alleluia in the house, something we have been missing all Lent. We attend Mass, and return home discussing all the blessings of the Resurrection. The Easter Bunny has hidden baskets full of treats and toys around the house, as well as plastic eggs all over the place. Sticking to our light above the table are little clues and riddles of where the baskets are hidden. Taking turns the children must find a few clues scattered about, to ultimately claim their prize. Then the Easter Egg Hunt begins. Easter day is filled with playing with their new toys, enjoying their treats and getting all those Lenten sacrifices back. We also make up a large meal of ham, potato salad, veggies and all the fixin’s...such a feast!
Now, as I reread what I have posted here, I realize it's a lot of work. There's shopping to do, cooking to keep up, riddles to compose and all the rest. Again, I remind you, we are a Mom at Work....with that capital 'W'. We Work in these ways to keep up traditions, not only to give the children a family identity or memories of their youth......we do it, as the first educators of our children. We do it, to teach them, the truth of our Faith. We do it, to bring to life the reality of our human nature, the consequences of sin, the virtue of compassion and ultimately to understand all is not lost. He rose from the dead, so that we might have life, and not live in the shadow of death and suffering. We Work to show the children HOPE, and live it a bit more enthusiastically ourselves.
Happy Holy Week and Happy Easter!
Pope John Paul II the Great, called the family, the Domestic Church. And it is. It's where our children learn the first lessons about God. For these holidays, we get to be the first to introduce to our children to the realities of Jesus' Birth, Death, and Resurrection. Filling these days with traditions that you might develop in your home helps to bring these realities to life for children who need a visual representation to understand it all. For the Lent and Easter season, we have developed a few traditions that help to bring the gospel stories to life for the children, because they live it as well.
For Lent, everyone must give up candy, and choose one other thing, either to give up, or to do. Many times, I have been asked by one of the children why we give up something during Lent. Depending on the age of the child, most times, I can simply say that Jesus gave up so much for us on the cross, He died for us. We can live like Jesus more so at Lent, and give up our favorite things. For my older kids, they can understand a bit better that we have attachments that we can learn to do without, so to better follow God's will.
This year, it was interesting to see what the kids choose for themselves, knowing what they were attached to.
Thinker gave up all juice. She simply wanted to drink milk or water for all of Lent.
Mr. Carefree gave up teasing his sisters, with the added bonus of playing with them more.
Serious gave up her favorite Blessed Mother doll that she slept with nightly.
Entertainer gave up her Minnie Mouse that she loved to play with and sleep with.
The Babe, well, Babe is working on not saying 'No' so much to Mom!
I have often thought of buying one of those life sized crown of thorns to use as a centerpiece at our table just to remind us all of the season each meal....haven't bought it yet...Also in past years, we have made a paper chain that drapes around the table, writing an intention on each chain link. After dinner, we rip a link off, and say a prayer for that intention....it helps to have a visual measure for the children, of how much time is left to Lent. You also can get one of those rice bowls from your parish, and each time the family sacrifices or fasts, put that money you would have spent in the rice bowl. At the end of Lent, bring your rice bowl back to your parish, and you have just taught your children to Fast, Pray and Give Alms. The key pieces of Lent!
Sometime during Lent we all make visits to the Confessional. My oldest two have gone several times now at school, by their own initiative. Gotta love Catholic schools that reinforce all that the Sahm at Work is trying to accomplish! Reflecting on our own weaknesses and limitations gives us a true clear vision of ourselves, and why Christ had to die for us. It also gives us motivation for change. To begin change, confession is a BIG starting point. The Catholic Church recommends that we go to confession at least once a year, especially at Easter time, but going more often helps to give us that needed humility and surrender to God's will.This week is the time for planning for Holy Week. This is what we've got planned.
Holy Thursday: We make a roast, bread and buy some grape juice. Dinner that night always includes the reading of the Last Supper Gospel and a reenactment of the scene using our juice and bread. We then get to discuss what it must have been like for the Apostles, or for Jesus, knowing this will probably be his last good meal. I always look forward to the kids reflections at this point, they really have profound insight at times.
Some families will also reenact the Washing of the Feet Gospel account, and discuss the meaning of it, as well as what that must have been like. Truly, we are trying to place ourselves at these different scenes to get a better picture of how it all must have been.
Good Friday: We fast and abstain from meat. Between the hours of noon and 3 pm, the hours of Christ's suffering and death, we remain quiet, talking only in whispers. No TV, no music, no electronics, no phone calls. (Our parish ususally has some kind of service, but with little ones, it can be difficult to attend.) Usually we print out coloring pages online of the stations of the cross for an activity. Some of my older kids are truly good artists and they can create their own masterpiece of a station without a printout. At night, HH and I usually watch the Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. It brings it all home for sure. That movie tells the story unlike I have ever seen. It touches your heart.Holy Saturday: We decorate eggs and Easter cutout cookies with all the variation of sprinkles I have accumulated in the pantry over the past year. It's the best. Our kitchen table gets covered in a sticky mess, with frosting and candy bits, but we can't eat any cookies just yet, we still wait for Easter Sunday!
Easter Sunday: All the kids have special new dresses or shirts/ties for this great day. Some of my girls love to wear white gloves and their Easter hats....just little ways to be different and more beautiful this day, above all days. We begin to sing Alleluia in the house, something we have been missing all Lent. We attend Mass, and return home discussing all the blessings of the Resurrection. The Easter Bunny has hidden baskets full of treats and toys around the house, as well as plastic eggs all over the place. Sticking to our light above the table are little clues and riddles of where the baskets are hidden. Taking turns the children must find a few clues scattered about, to ultimately claim their prize. Then the Easter Egg Hunt begins. Easter day is filled with playing with their new toys, enjoying their treats and getting all those Lenten sacrifices back. We also make up a large meal of ham, potato salad, veggies and all the fixin’s...such a feast!
Now, as I reread what I have posted here, I realize it's a lot of work. There's shopping to do, cooking to keep up, riddles to compose and all the rest. Again, I remind you, we are a Mom at Work....with that capital 'W'. We Work in these ways to keep up traditions, not only to give the children a family identity or memories of their youth......we do it, as the first educators of our children. We do it, to teach them, the truth of our Faith. We do it, to bring to life the reality of our human nature, the consequences of sin, the virtue of compassion and ultimately to understand all is not lost. He rose from the dead, so that we might have life, and not live in the shadow of death and suffering. We Work to show the children HOPE, and live it a bit more enthusiastically ourselves.
Happy Holy Week and Happy Easter!
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