Fr. Hans' Pair o' Dimes

Happy Advent! During COVID, we’ve been putting more emphasis on the “Domestic Church.” How do we make our homes places where we encounter God? Advent offers a lot of opportunities to make our homes more like Church, and I’d like to share some of my favorites from when I was a child (and even still today!).
 
The first tradition is the ubiquitous “Advent Calendar.” These calendars generally run from December 1st to December 24th, and include either chocolate or scripture or some meditation on the birth of Christ. Or sometimes all three together. You get to open the little door each day and see what’s inside. My personal favorites are the ones which gradually walk through, verse by verse, the scriptures which lead up to the birth of Christ. They help me to build anticipation of our great celebration of Christmas.


Another excellent tradition is the Advent Wreath. With four candles (three purple and one pink), it represents the four weeks of Advent and also serves to build anticipation while seeing the building light of having more candles lit each week. Each of the candles represents a different emotion/gift.

A tradition I vaguely recall from when I was really young is the Jesse Tree. Jesse trees are used to help share the story from Creation up to the time of Jesus, and can often be a form of Advent Calendar. Their name comes from Isaiah 11:1, promising a savior: “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” Each day throughout advent you would hang an ornament on your tree with a scripture passage telling a story from the bible, or promising the birth of the Messiah.
 
My family always celebrated St. Nicholas’s feast day on December 6th. St. Nicholas is famous for giving gifts (hence his transformation into Santa Claus), and so December 6th became a day for getting presents (almost as much as Christmas!). We would always place our shoes out around the fireplace on the evening of the 5th, and on the morning of the 6th we would have received candy, nuts, oranges, and other small gifts.
 
I encourage you to  use some of these ideas to make your preparation for Christmas more spiritually meaningful, and to bring joy into your own “House Church.” And who knows, it might also be a lot of fun!

I personally haven’t gotten an Advent Calendar in many years, but this year I’m planning on getting one with short scripture passages (and maybe chocolates). And perhaps I will get on Facebook Live each day during Advent and you can join me as I open those tiny doors, read the scripture, and enjoy the chocolate!