Celebrating Advent

Friday, Dec. 11, 2020

 

"This year many things have changed. In the past we used to pray the rosary all together every Advent Sunday in our house with family and friends. This year we only do it with our household members. This year we have also set the goal to have a family posada at our home so we can keep teaching our grandchildren about the Nativity. We have acquired a new Nativity set, and every day we show them a character and explain to them the history so they get excited for Our Lord’s birth. Even though the quarantine has been imposed on us, I am grateful for it because it has taught us to pay attention to all the little details of life. Every Sunday I send a text with Advent messages to my extended family. My 4-year-old granddaughter is really excited to be able to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, and she wants to get a cake for him." - Sofia Palestino, Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioner

 

"My family has a few Advent traditions we love. We start off  the Advent season putting up a Nativity scene my grandma from Italy passed on to me. Ever since my two kids were little, they received an Advent calendar every year. Even though now both of my kids are older and have moved out – one in Salt Lake and the other in Washington – I am still sure to mail them an Advent calendar (as they still expect one!). This season with the pandemic making things more diffi  cult to be together at times, we set up a Zoom meeting with all of us each Sunday of Advent to talk about the reason for the season." - Cindy White St. Joseph Catholic High School assistant athletic director

"For us, Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical year – a very special time of prayer and refl ection marked by hope, repentance and forgiveness, fulfi lled with joy because baby Jesus is coming. We prepare by creating an Advent wreath and lighting the fi rst candle on the fi rst Sunday of Advent; after that we begin the novena for our Lady of Guadalupe as good Guadalupanos that we are. Every day we do daily prayer with the O Antiphons so as Christmas gets even closer we have the hope and joy to receive Jesus, and once again he fi nds a home in our hearts. We light up our home with lots of decorations and lights because it’s a time of joy. We have a special Nativity that reminds us that we are waiting for our Savior and for the Three Wise Men. And on Christmas Day we have a family dinner with the traditional Ponche Navideño (a Christmas punch made with sugar cane and fruit). - Deacon Guillermo (Socorro) Mendez Cathedral of the Madeleine

 

"A personal tradition that comes from Nicaragua is to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and sometimes go to our friends’ homes or have them come to our house and have a special prayer and a meal. We call it 'La Griteria.' It is a tradition in Nicaragua for people to go out on the eve of the feast (Dec. 7) and sing songs and shout in Spanish, 'Quien Causa Tanta Alegria? La Concepcion de Maria!' ('Who causes so much joy?' And the response is 'The Conception of Mary!') In the United States, we have gathered on the actual day of the feast, Dec. 8. We were able to enjoy some of the traditional Nicaraguan food, but we won’t be able to this year. I hope that we can do something via Zoom this year and invite friends to join in singing Marian songs and read the Scriptures for the day as well as have intercessions for our loved ones." - Sr. Veronica Fajardo, CSC Holy Cross Ministries therapist

  

"We slowly work up to Christmas over Advent. Besides the constant of the Advent wreath, we slowly accumulate the decorations. The fi rst week the focus is on the lights on and in the house. The second week is wall decorations, garlands and the like. The third week is tabletop decorations, including the manger scene. The Christmas tree is the highlight of the fourth week. The baby Jesus makes his appearance in the manger scene Christmas Day, as do the Three Wise Men, who appear at the far side of the room. Every day they magically get closer to the manger until Epiphany. None of this is an issue with the pandemic, and the Three Wise Men are not even considering wearing masks on their journey across the living room." - Andy (Giselle) Airriess, Utah Knights of Columbus Communications Director

"One of my favorite Advent traditions that can be done safely during this pandemic is the Jesse Tree, which is based on this prophesy of Isaiah:  “... a shoot shall spring up from the stump of Jesse. ....” (Is 11:1). It can be simply done with an indoor tree, a branch, or even a paper tree posted on the fridge. Each day, a family member can place a homemade ornament that scripturally depicts the coming of Christ  on the tree, while another reads the Bible passage itself. Thus, we journey through the Word of God as we journey through Advent." - Donna Masek Utah Militia of the Immaculata moderator

 

"We have a tradition of hanging a special ornament on our Christmas tree. This ornament is a nail, a spike really; and it is placed near the trunk of the tree where it isn’t easily seen. The nail reminds us that Jesus was born to die on a cross for us. Each year we give a similar ornament to each of our retreatants who are in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius so that they might share in the joy of Christ’s great love for us." - Ralph and Cathy Morgan Ignatian spiritual directors

 

"These days I just like the Advent wreath. We have one at home and say the prayer and light the candles daily before dinner.  The four candles remind us of the four weeks of Advent and so as we get closer to Christmas, our wreath has more lit candles. A favorite tradition I had as a school principal  was the “Kristkindl” (Christ child). Each person drew a name and kept it secret during Advent. Each day they did something special for that person (a prayer, a note, a small gift, etc.) The last day of school before Christmas break there was an exchange of gifts that each person brought and gave to their “Kristkindl.” It is even fun with adults." - Sister Catherine Kamphaus, CSC Associate Superintendent Utah Catholic Schools