Honestly, this time of year, I always have to reconcile our family traditions with my conscience. It seems that in Catholic circles, there is often an underlying competition for who is the "most Catholic." To fall in this category you have to wait until Christmas Eve to set up the tree, and all decorations, all Christmas music is banned etc. because it is a season of preparation.
Then, you have the next best category where the tree is put up on Joyful Sunday, and finally decorations are allowed to grace the corners of the home, but Christmas music etc is still forbidden.
Then, you have the people like US. The people who put the tree up the week after Thanksgiving, put the stockings up, decorate the house, and have Christmas music playing every day. Now we aren't completely a lost cause because we have our Advent calendar, our Jesse tree, our advent wreath on the kitchen table, and baby Jesus is NOT in the manger scenes yet with the exception of my Willow Tree set where Jesus is permanently attached to Mary... I can't really do much about that. :)
I have also noticed many Catholic families who don't teach their children about Santa Claus because he is a secular figure, and I respect that decision, but in our house we teach our children that Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are one in the same, and we are blessed because he comes to our house twice! Once on his feast day on Dec. 6th, and then he comes again to bring us presents to celebrate Jesus' birthday!
If you fall into the first category of strict observance of Advent with no hint of Christmas then that is just fine, and I admire your self discipline. If I wasn't so bent on having a real Christmas tree from Lowe's for less than $40, I might be more inclined to go that route... (I'm only half kidding. ;) )
However, I always have to remind myself that comparison only steals my joy, and as long as we are prayerfully preparing our hearts for the celebration of Jesus' birth that is the true reason for the Advent season. This is obviously not a moral issue, and who knows, maybe next year, we will put the real tree up the week after thanksgiving but wait to put the lights on on St. Lucy day, and then we can put the ornaments up on Joyful Sunday. I have often thought that might be a neat tradition, but this year, it's Dec. 14th, and our house looks quite festive which warms my heart, and I have been enjoying Elf, Polar Express, and Miracle on 34th Street. :)
And yes, we will continue to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with the tree still up, the Christmas music still playing, and sky above the Jesse tree will be lit up with 12 felt stars. :)
The bottom line is that I feel blessed to be Catholic all the time, but I love the rich traditions of the Advent and Christmas seasons, and I love being able to pass that on to our children.
I hope that everyone is having a Blessed Advent, and I can't wait to wish you all a very Merry Christmas on Dec. 25th!
Oh I hope you didn't read my blog and think of I was engaging in some sort of competition thing! I don't think you read my blog, but just in case, I love people who start their Christmas celebrations early! I was one of them for a long time! It is totally endearing to get all excited about celebrating Christmas. Yea!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I EVER started to wait was because we moved one year right before Christmas so I forced to. I was just surprised at how much I love it, so we keep waiting every year. Whew, I am nervous I made you feel bad. Please tell me you don't read my blog. haha! :)
You're one better than us-Jesus is already in the manger here!
ReplyDeleteHaha-but I know what you mean. And the competition is silly. Your traditions sound beautiful!
We are pretty much the same ;)
ReplyDeleteK, please don't worry! This post wasn't directed at anyone in particular! I didn't read your post until after I read your comment. :) I was just needing to get that out. Haha. Despite the fact that we have our decorations up already, I do feel like we do a good job of making Advent a true season of anticipation and preparation. I suppose it could be seen as us starting our celebration early, but I tend to think of it as building excitement. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I am glad you didn't read my post haha! I was trying to say how lots of days Advent is a big old FAIL for us. I don't think there is a hard and fast way to do all this; it all depends on circumstance and temperament and whatnot. It's all Jesus either way :)!
DeleteI totally understand the Catholic competition thing!! I feel it too. it has inspired new traditions in our family (like this is the first year for a Jesse tree, first year we actually light the advent candles and say prayers, an it also I the first year we did NOT put the tree up Thanksgiving weekend. I do miss the tree but less time for Isaiah to destroy it!!
ReplyDeleteLOL, we must be kindred spirits, because we start the Christmas music, lights and decorations right after Thanksgiving! (We haven't put up a tree yet, but that is because of a crazy two-year-old.) And, we are BIG into Santa Clause here, like on a ridiculous scale. And St. Nicholas, too (they are the same, right??).
ReplyDeleteLoved this post, Megan! I love the Elf and Santa so I'm glad to know I'm not the only one, haha... :)
ReplyDeleteI really needed to read this today. Thanks so much! We have the full manger scene set out for my little girl. Sometimes Dis.ney characters end up joining the crew in adoring Baby Jesus. :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear--the Catholic competition thing never occurred to me. I confess I'm just a tad paranoid that that's what anyone could be taking away from my blog of late. My apologies if that is the case! I do think that some families are trying to purposely counter the culture of secularism around the holidays. But there is no one, best or most Catholic way to do it. Perhaps that point needs to be more clear.
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