Toward Living Advent and Christmas :: 2011

I have been working hard to get all my plans and ideas on paper for Advent this year.  Have you been considering your Advent plans?  Will it be a simple, quiet season of preparation for you and your family, or will you try to incorporate some meaningful ideas for living the season of Advent?  (Both are right answers, by the way!)

I have a very busy First week of Advent which is really motivating me to get my ducks in a row ahead of time this year!  Advent wreath out – check!  Advent candles ordered – check!  Advent books out and arranged in baskets – check!  Consider how our family will take time to live the holy season of preparing during Advent – check!

Last year I shared my document detailing Advent history as well as our plans for living Advent and Christmas with you!  It was something I really enjoyed putting together and really helped me keep my head on straight; Advent is so liturgically rich!  So, a couple of weeks ago, I got out my plans from last year and my calendar and planner and pencils and pens and marked and rearranged the old plans, and added and updated so that we can now enjoy the 2011 Advent plans and I’d love to share them with you!

There are some definite updates to our Advent plans this year: new books and a new focus on an old French folktale, Le Jongleur de Notre Dame, The Juggler of Notre Dame.   This very old and beautifully Catholic tale recounts the story of a poor juggler named Barnabus who, seeking shelter and home in a monastery, finds he has nothing to offer Our Lady and the Christ Child on the Holy night of the Nativity, save his small and unnoticed talent of juggling.  He offers the best of himself through his humble talent as he juggles his heart’s best before a statue of Our Lady and the Christ Child in the monastery chapel.  As the Abbot approaches him to reprimand him for juggling in the chapel, a miracle takes place!  I won’t spoil any more of the story as you really need to read these treasured adaptations for yourself and with your children!

The Medieval French tale, The Little Juggler, has a rich history of its own from the french poetry of the 12th century Benedictine Monk, Gautier de Coincy, through Anatole France’s adaptation, and an opera based on the tale written by Jules Massenet.  Many adaptations have sprung from these sources, and I’m delighted to list them on our Advent plans this year.  A few are absolute treasures, such as Barbara Cooney’s adaptation, The Little Juggler.  I cannot mention the worthwhile findings on this dear French tale without mentioning this helpful conversation discussing The Little Juggler at 4Real which I’ve enjoyed and learned so much from!

These Advent plans have been considered with our family in mind, but I love sharing in the hopes it might be a help to another family. I do remember when we were just starting to build our Advent collection.  I dearly treasured shared ideas and booklists as they helped me grow into our own family ways and traditions, and along the way I got to know so many delightful authors and illustrators as friends.

And of course…this post would not be complete without the disclaimer: the plans are a guide.  We do what we can, read what we enjoy, live out as much as we can to prepare our hearts for His coming!  We do no more and no less than that!

I thought it would be helpful for those of you just interested in the books on the plans to see a list of them here so I’ve linked them all for you, and hope this might be a useful resource!

• The Christmas Book by Father Francis Weiser  (reprinted by Neumann Press)
• The Holyday Book by Father Francis Weiser
• Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs by Father Francis Weiser
• The Twelve Days of Christmas by Elsa Chaney
• Around the Year with the Trapp Family by Maria Augusta Trapp
• Cooking for Christ by Florence Berger
• Crusade: the Story of the Bible Retold for Children by the Maryknoll Sisters

I owe a debt of gratitude to Jennifer Gregory Miller at Family in Feast and Feria for her knowledge of liturgical books that she has shared over the years!  I especially enjoyed Jenn’s Alphabet Advent from which I learned of  many new and wonderful picture books to incorporate!  

I pray that as you consider your family’s plans for Advent, you find time to be still and know, time to live the quiet, penitential season of Advent with your family, following in the path of our brothers and sisters, the saints.  May our time spent preparing our hearts for Him this Advent be rewarded most joyfully on Christmas morning!