The Grinch Can't Cancel Christmas

For Orthodox Christians, the second Sunday of Advent is almost here (we celebrate 40 days of Advent, with six Sundays as opposed to four), so we started our journey well before Thanksgiving! 

Across the U.S. we are still in various stages of COVID and feelings regarding lockdown.  Especially here in California, where cases are up and deaths are way down, we are sadly expecting not to be allowed to gather in our homes with large extended families and friends for Thanksgiving, or in our churches for our Advent and possibly even Christmas services - even if we are healthy, wear masks, and practice physical distancing of six feet, as we've been asked to.

But even if our governor(s) make these decisions and end up cancelling Christmas services, this time of continued isolation is a good reminder that our homes are all little domestic churches, and there are so many things you can still do to make this a joyful season for your children!  

If you haven't had time in the past to make an effort for family Advent traditions at home, this is definitely the year to start! So, what can you do to help your kids enter into Advent and the Incarnation of Christ?

MAKE AN ADVENT WREATH:

Last week, I gathered candles for my six-candle Advent Wreath [Note: a seventh white candle will be placed in the middle of the wreath, to be lit on Christmas Day.] 

This is a tradition I learned from a book by Fr. Anthony Coniaris (of blessed memory), Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home. I highly recommend the book, which is in its 13th printing.

"The circle (wreath) is a symbol for God who is eternal. The evergreen branches symbolize eternal life, or the life of God, of which Jesus came to make us partakers. The candles represent Christ who is the light of the world. The color of each candle expresses something special that will be discussed each week of Advent as the family celebration unfolds. One candle will be lit each week by a different member of the family." 

Father Coniaris outlines a family devotion time for each of the Sundays of Advent, including Scripture readings, prayers, Christmas carols, and topics for discussion, all based upon the meaning of the candle colors. 

The basic meaning of each candle color follows, together with a brief statement for the head of the family to read when lighting the candle - you can find this adapted here if you need the Sunday Advent readings (but I highly recommend the book for great ideas all year long):

https://www.st-philip.net/files/Bulletins%20plus/Advent-Wreath.pdf .

MAKE AN ADVENT CALENDAR OF BOOKS:

Go to my Advent and Christmas Resource Page for lots of ideas of how to make your family reading time special for all 40 days of Advent (or you can simplify the idea to all 25 days of December). 

http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2012/11/advent-christmas-resource-page.html

Need Christmas book recommendations?  You'll find all mine here, 

http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-book-resource-page.html

I pray you have a blessed Advent. Stay healthy: pray, sing, exercise, breath fresh air, take your vitamins, eat right, keep washing those hands, hug your kids. And if you are high risk, health-compromised, or have been exposed to sickness, be safe and stay isolated to avoid - or avoid spreading - illness (Covid included) this holiday season.  

HOLY WEEK HELP: "HELP ME!"

Our daughter and her young children have been able to help her priest husband with the Holy Week services in their empty church...

O Lord, my God, I call for help by day, I cry out in the night before You.

Let my prayer come before you; incline Your ear to my cry!

-Psalm 88 (87 Septuagint)

She sent me this sweet picture of my little granddaughter reaching up trying to give Jesus a kiss at the end of the Bridegroom Orthros service last night.  

My granddaughter couldn't quite reach and called out, "Help me!"  Out of the mouths of babes.  

Or, as Mommy noted: "Sweet and profound".

Some of you celebrated Easter (at home) this past Sunday, but those of us who are Orthodox are currently observing Holy Week (at home).  

I've been watching and praying our Bridegroom services the past couple of nights on Youtube, which is our new-Coronavirus-normal for awhile.

Earlier in the evening, I had listened to an excellent podcast on Ancient Faith Today Live, hosted by Fr. Tom Soroka: "Holy Week Under Quarantine" - link here - with guest Dr. Nicole Roccas, author of Time and Despondency.  I highly recommend the podcast and the book!

Dr. Roccas talked about trying to find positives about what we can do during this time of isolation, instead of dwelling on "what we can't do".  

She specifically brought up that this is a good time to acknowledge how we in North America (she lives in Canada) are very fortunate:  that our current inability to attend services and partake of Holy Communion is only an anomaly here, a temporary "new normal", whereas that privilege is an impossibility in many countries that are suffering persecution - or have suffered persecution in the past. She encouraged listeners that "Maybe as we grieve our inability to receive the Eucharist we can remember those around the world who are unable to gather in even the best of times."

Dr. Roccas' comments made me think of a book about a Russian priest, Fr. Arseny, which we read as a family years ago.

FATHER ARSENY, translated by Vera Bouteneff. A narrative comprised of encounters with Father Arseny, a former art historian and priest imprisoned in the Gulag. He became Prisoner No. 18736 in the brutal 'special sector' of the Soviet prison camp system. In the darkness of systematic degradation of body and soul, he shone with the light of Christ's peace and compassion. I wept, reading this aloud to our teens.  We all loved this book.

So. What else can we do during Holy Week?

-Spend time as a family while journeying towards Pascha at home.

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-Go here to my past post with some ideas for quiet activities specifically for Holy Week.

-Listen to saints stories and Orthodox books for children read by Chrissi Hart, here on AFR's Under the Grapevine podcast.

-Decorate eggs: go here for my post, Why Eggs for Easter?

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-Pray together and read the Psalms.

-Be thankful for smart phone technology such as FaceTime and Skype and digital live streaming on YouTube, which can bring us "virtually" to our churches and family and friends.

[Speaking of which, please share/forward this post. And if you're not a regular follower yet, please sign up on the web version of my blog for my emails. I am no longer on social media since I realized and embraced the fact that I'm pretty much a JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out) kind of person.  My readership has been down as a result of my choice to leave Facebook and not join the Instagram trend. Thank you! I appreciate your taking time to stop by!]  

ISOLATION AND SPRING-ING INTO ACTION

Amidst all the "sheltering" and "distancing" precautions in answer to the Corona Virus outbreak, there seems to be the happy consequence of many families re-connecting and discovering closeness and the simple things in life.  

No sports, no schools or churches open, no eating out, no movie theaters, lots of parents working from home...we are all being forced to slow down a little and "live in the moment" as we navigate our new normal. 

Hopefully that means we aren't panicking and spending hours with the news and social media, but instead are taking time to talk, play games, pray and cook together, and read more with our families - appreciate each other, and find joy and beauty in the ordinary. 

It is not from external circumstances, but internal attitudes that sorrows and joys are born.

- St. John Chrysostom

And let's not forget those who are alone, infirm, sick, or unable to care for themselves.  They need our prayers, phone calls, cards, and letters now more than ever.  

I was reminded of this when my friend asked for prayers for her sister and niece, who are in separate care facilities and confined to their rooms.  She is trying to figure out little things she can do to help them through this difficult time of isolation.

Did you notice that today is the first day of Spring?  I think it's a great time to think about Spring-ing into Action!  I looked through my stash of Trader Joe's cards and will be sending some off to my friend's loved ones.  

Here are a few other quick ideas I came up with to help others through this time of temporary isolation. Please share yours!

• If you have children who like to paint or draw, you could encourage them to [wash their hands well and] make cards to send out to local shut-ins. Start with your own neighbors!
• Be a pen[computer]pal - you or your kids can send daily emails with family updates to any older family members or loved ones who are quarantined. 
• Send a new mom, who may be feeling extra overwhelmed with being home with limited help, a pack of diapers, or a gift card, or have a meal delivered to her and her family from a nearby restaurant.
• If you are healthy and not quarantined, check and see if your local food bank needs help packing up boxes for seniors or those in need.
• Facetime, Skype, or send a video to a child in your life who would love to hear you read aloud a story.
• Brighten a child's day with inexpensive activity books or little gifts you can buy online and mail (I recently ordered Star Wars Mad Libs for our grandsons and bath tub toys for our granddaughter.) Picture books, chapter books, stickers, hair bows, coloring books, and bath products are fun options.
• Find child-friendly recipes that your kids can help out with; and then serve your family a special candle-lit dinner.
• Send or drop off a beautiful live plant to someone.
• Share a roll of toilet paper with someone.  I'm serious.  Not sure what the toilet paper shortage is about, but last week we nearly fell into the "uh-oh-we're-almost-out-of-TP-what-now" Category, until my husband discovered a big pack we'd forgotten we had in the garage!  I've now given rolls away to two friends, and we still have plenty.  They're relieved and I'm happy to have shared.
• Listen to music, play the piano, scrapbook, garden, journal, read (especially the Psalms), try writing some poetry, get out and walk, have a family talent show.  Limit screen time, social media, and news.
• Remember to SMILE - at your postman, your check-out clerk/cashier, and anyone else you come into (6 foot away) contact with. 
• Pray. Everyday. For the whole world.

You may find my other posts helpful:

The Litany of Laundry (The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris)

The Secret Ingredient: Learning and Fun

All in the Family

Lenten Meditations for Families

Family Read Alouds:

Little Britches

The Sound of Music

Chapter Books My Daughter Loved

Fifteen Exceptional Character Building Books

Books Even Busy Boys Will Come Inside For