Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer
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In
last month's article, I suggested that one way parents could help in the
religious education of their children was to make the liturgical year more
a part of family life. With Christmas fast-approaching, I don't think many
families need be persuaded to celebrate this holiday together. However,
I do think that we all - no matter our age - tend to get a little overwhelmed
by our own hectic preparations for the holiday. With so much to do and so
little time to do it, it's very easy to lose the feelings of joy and hope
and brotherhood that should be a part of Christmas because we are tired
and short-tempered from fighting holiday crowds on our shopping trips or
from staying up too late writing Christmas cards or baking cookies. And
I've known many a frantic father muddling through directions on how to assemble
toys at 1 a.m. Christmas morning who has thought very black thoughts about
the whole gift-giving tradition. And children, surrounded by TV shows about
Santa Claus, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman along
with hundreds of commercials on their favorite cartoon shows about toys
that no child should be without, may have a little trouble understanding
why gifts are given or what the whole holiday is all about.
How can we and our families keep our bearings as we go through the pre-Christmas
period? How can we keep our attention focused on the religious meaning of
Christmas and not get sidetracked? Well, I have a few suggestions.
First, we can start by observing the Church's period of preparation for
the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, which is a period of fasting that
begins on November 15 and extends for 40 days until Christmas. There are
many things that families can do together during this period to ready themselves
spiritually for the feast - through fasting, prayer, church attendance,
participation in the sacraments, and a concentration on the full meaning
of this feast both to all mankind and to each of us as individuals. What
follows are some suggestions of things to do during this period.
You and your family can decide together which ones you want to do, but it's
a good idea to make a plan before the period begins so you'll have a clear
course of action. Below is a little chart of the suggestions to help you
plan.
FIRST WEEK
NOVEMBER 14 - Make wreath - Make plans (Fasting, prayer, church
attendance, sacraments, activities)
NOVEMBER 15 - Candle lighting
SECOND WEEK
NOVEMBER 18 - Candle lighting - Gifts for God
NOVEMBER 21 - Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos to
the Temple
THIRD WEEK
NOVEMBER 25 - Candle lighting - Gifts for the Less Fortunate
- Fix-up Week
FOURTH WEEK
DECEMBER 2 - Candle lighting - Grab bag
DECEMBER 6 - St. Nicholas
FIFTH WEEK
DECEMBER 9 - Candle lighting - Christmas card making
SIXTH WEEK
DECEMBER 16 - Candle lighting - Christmas decoration making
SEVENTH WEEK
DECEMBER 23 - Candle lighting - Prayer, meditation and thanksgiving
DECEMBER 24 - Gifts for God placed under tree - Grab bag evening
The day before the fast period begins is a good time for the family to get
together to make plans and to begin its preparations for the feast (families
with very young children might want to shorten the periods of some of the
following suggested activities since young children may tire of them more
quickly). One way of emphasizing the meaning of Christmas and the ideas
to be remembered throughout the preparation period is by making an advent
wreath. The advent wreath symbolically represents religious ideas, and explaining
these ideas as the wreath is being made by family members focuses their
attention on the religious meaning of the feast. The wreath also serves
as a means of marking time to the feast. It can be as simple or elaborate
as the family wishes. The family can begin with a large ring mold filled
with wet sand as a foundation or a styrofoam circle bought at the 5 &
10. Evergreens are inserted into the mold or the styrofoam round, along
with one candle for each week until Christmas (partial weeks are treated
as full weeks so seven candles are needed). Six of the candles should be
purple and one should be pink. (If you have trouble finding purple candles,
buy white ones and tie a purple ribbon around each.)
As the family puts the wreath together, the parents can explain the significance
of each part. The circle of the wreath symbolizes eternity and God because
both are endless. The evergreens symbolize eternal life. It is through Jesus
that we were given the gift of eternal life, and that is why we celebrate
His birth and are so happy we know the gift He is bringing us. The candles
also mean something special. Candles give light just as Jesus gave us light.
He became one of us and taught us about a new way of life full of hope and
love. He is like a light shining in darkness, leading us to a better way
of living and to eternal life after death. Six of the candles are purple
because purple is the color of repentance, for being sorry for the things
we've done wrong. Jesus offers us wonderful gifts, but we have to do something,
too. We have to look at how we are living our lives, what we are doing wrong
and how we can improve. Being sorry for what we've done wrong and trying
to do better make our hearts and spirits ready to receive the gifts of Jesus;
and these six purple candles help us remember for six weeks to repent. One
candle is pink because that's the color for joy and hope. We feel joy as
Christmas comes nearer because we think about Jesus bringing us hope for
eternal life and we are happy. This candle, the last one lit the week before
Christmas, reminds us of joy and hope.
When the wreath is finished, the parents can also explain about the lighting
of the candles. One candle should be lit each week: the purple ones for
repentance first and the pink one for joy last. One candle should be lit
at the beginning of the fast period (November 15) and one new one each Sunday.
Usually the youngest child lights the candle the first week (an adult can
help very young children) the next youngest lights the first candle and
a new one the second week, etc., with the parents also included in the ceremony.
The family should pray together before the candles are lit, perhaps with
the candle-lighter for the week adding a special, spontaneous prayer.
CAUTION! Make a firm rule at the beginning that children are not
to light the candle unless an adult is present. If live evergreens are used,
take care that the candles do not burn too close to them: live evergreens
can get very dry over the preChristmas period and dry evergreens burn readily.
Using the ring mold filled with sand that is kept wet will keep the greens
fresher, but caution is still necessary. Finally, make certain that the
full seven-week order of candle-lighters is agreed upon in advance;
this avoids last-minute "discussions" about whose turn it is or
should be.
After making the wreath, the family should set it aside for the candle-lighting
ceremony the next evening and discuss some general ideas about observing
the fast period - its purpose in shifting our attention from filling our
physical needs to filling our spiritual needs, the necessity for a program
not only of fasting but of fasting, prayer, church attendance, participating
in the sacraments and examining our lives and trying to make them better.
Perhaps the family can plan to set aside a time each day for home prayer
together during the period. Family members should also try to make some
resolutions about church attendance during the period and perhaps, too,
agree on times to go to confession and communion together in preparation
for the feast.
The first three Sundays in the fast period can be devoted to focusing on
the meaning of gift giving. Many of us often think of gifts in terms of
things rather than actions. On the first Sunday, perhaps after dinner and
the lighting of the advent wreath candle, the family can begin its exploration
of gift giving. To begin, the parents might get out the family's manger
set and tell the beginning of the Nativity story, using pieces from the
manger set. The manger can be set in one part of the living room, which
will be Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph can be set at a distance from the manger,
journeying toward Bethlehem (the figures can be moved a little closer to
"Bethlehem" each day until Christmas Eve), and the story of the
Annunciation and the reasons for Mary and Joseph's journey told. Those gifts
that the birth of Jesus heralds- the hope for eternal life and the possibility
of living in a new, more loving way - can also be pointed out. The parents
can ask what sorts of gifts we can give God in return for the gifts He has
given us. When the discussion turns to "doing" things for God,
parents can suggest that each member of the family give a special gift to
God during the preChristmas period. Each member of the family (parents included)
should decide on a gift of "doing" that will be done every
day during the preChristmas period. It might be a chore that helps Mother
or Dad around the home or it might be a personal trait that needs work like
not fighting with a brother or sister or perhaps working up to potential
in school. Each person should then find a "gift" box, and parents
should explain that each member of the family will get a token to put into
his or her box providing that the agreed-upon gift is done that day
(the token can be a bean or some kind of marker; what it is is less important
than what it signifies). On Christmas Eve, the gift boxes, hopefully filled
with tokens, will be wrapped and placed under the tree as special gifts
to God.
The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple falls during
the Christmas fast period (November 21). The Church commemorates in this
feast the revelation of God's choice of Mary for the great future honor
that was to be bestowed upon her (as you remember, the priest did an unusual
thing and took the three-year-old Mary into the holiest part of the Temple).
Because of the importance of this feast and its relationship to Christmas,
your family may wish to mark the feast with a special observance at home.
On the eve of the feast, parents can tell, to younger children, the story
of Mary's presentation and its significance, or older children can tell
the story to the family. Family members may also wish to make individual
icons for the feast (see last month's article).
The second Sunday exploration of gift giving might emphasize the idea of
gift giving as love through sharing with people outside the family. The
suggestion might be made that each member of the family share with the less
fortunate members of the community. Children can go through their toys and
games, selecting those that they wish to give to a home for children in
the area. Teenagers and parents can go through their possessions for books,
clothing, etc. to give to others. The week that follows this Sunday could
be designated "Fix-Up Week," with the children (with some help)
repairing and repainting their toys and teenagers and parents mending and/or
washing their gift clothing before everything is boxed and made ready to
be given away.
The third Sunday, still emphasizing the idea of gift giving, might be grab
bag day. For this grab bag, the name of each family member is placed in
a box, and it is explained that the "gift" to be given to the
person whose name is drawn is doing something special for that person each
day during the pre-Christmas period. However, family members may not tell
whose names they have drawn. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, each person
reveals the name of the person he or she drew by giving that person some
small gift (a little time might also be spent just going over those daily
gifts; certainly family members would wish to thank each other for these
daily favors).
Since the feast of that well-known gift-giver, Saint Nicholas, falls during
this week (December 6), family members may want to have a special family
observance for this feast. The story of Saint Nicholas and his many acts
of charity may be told or perhaps acted out if the family can find the time
beforehand to write a short play. Older children might be given the project
of tracing how Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus, and the results of their
research might be shared with other members of the family.
The fourth Sunday can be Christmas-card-making day. Parents can suggest
that the religious meaning of Christmas be kept in mind during the card
making with religious subjects used for decoration and religious greetings
used for the inside. Using original drawings or pasting pictures from other
sources, children can make their own Christmas cards to send to family members
and friends. Inside the children can write (or if they are too young to
write, to dictate) their own special and personal Christmas greetings to
family and friends.
The fifth Sunday can begin Christmas-decoration-making week. One project
that the whole family can work on together is a religious banner, perhaps
of the Nativity scene (see Creative Activities I, section on banner making).
Another family project can be making a Jesse tree, which is a family tree
for Jesus. A tree (an evergreen if you like) can be cut from construction
paper and hung with symbols of Old and New Testament people who lead us
from the Garden of Eden to Bethlehem. For example, a tree (of Knowledge
of Good and Evil) can be cut to symbolize Adam and Eve, an ark for Noah,
a figure of a man for Abraham, a replica of the stone tablets for Moses,
a crown or a harp for King David, a drawing of a river for John the Baptist,
a hammer (carpenter's symbol) for Jesus' foster father Joseph, a rose for
Mary, and a star for the top of the tree-Jesus. These are just some suggested
people and suggested symbols; your family might want to include more people
(Isaac, Jacob, etc.) or they might think of some symbols that they feel
more fitting; but a list of people and symbols should be drawn up beforehand.
All the symbols can be hung on the tree on one day or one can be added to
the tree each day until Christmas. (Since Sunday, December 23 is the Sunday
of the Fathers, December 22 might be a good day to set aside to talk about
the Jesse tree in terms of how everyone fits into this pattern extending
from the Garden of Eden to Bethlehem. It will make the Gospel reading for
that day (Matthew 1) a little more meaningful to children.)
The sixth Sunday is December 23, the day before Christmas Eve. Knowing how
busy the last few days are before Christmas, I'm still going to suggest
that the whole family take time for a period of prayer and meditation. Looking
forward to the gifts under the tree or the gifts from Santa Claus, some
of us sometimes forget the gifts we already have that have been given us
by God; and this is a good time to think about them and to give thanks for
them. That you are together as a family, that you have many blessings in
your life given to you by the abundance of God, that you have life and hope
and love, that you have tried to come to this feast with an open and giving
spirit-ample reasons all for giving thanks. Parents and older children may
also wish to remember those who are dead. Because Christ offers the gifts
of hope and salvation, Christmas is a fitting time to offer prayers for
those who are separated from us by death. In this happy time, we should
also be happy that the same hope we treasure is also there for those who
have died.
Christmas Eve at last. What is left to be done? Wrapping our special gifts
to God that we have been working on for many weeks and putting them under
the tree. Perhaps, having delayed putting the Christ child into the manger
until now, we can do so with a prayer of thanksgiving for those gifts He
has given us. And once the children are in bed, if there are Christmas stockings
to fill, I hope that you have remembered some religious gifts, perhaps some
Arch series Bible story books or a Biblical jigsaw puzzle for younger children
or a book of colored reproductions of icons for teenagers or adults or perhaps
a gold cross or an album of Orthodox liturgical music.
I hope that you will try some of these suggestions for preparing for the
Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and that they work to help you and your
family come closer to each other and closer to God. I wish you all the joy
of this very special feast.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
December 1973
pp. 9-11
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