My Sunday Best: Epiphany Edition

Three Kings Day! The Epiphany! Theophany! The Twelfth Night! Little Christmas! 

No matter what you call it, it is indeed a feast that needs to be celebrated in style. It is the night that the Three Kings found the Christ Child lying in a manger beneath the star of Bethlehem. We display of entire Nativity scene on our home altar and light our Christ Candle all day to honor this amazing day.

This was our first Mass of the New Year. We have been fighting some nasty stomach bugs, coughs, ear infections and sore throats over our Christmas break so it was an awesome way to start our Epiphany celebration at Mass. As you can see from the picture above, the boys rocked their new outfits they received for Christmas again. They love their ties, new shoes and the whole ensemble so who am I to say no to kids that want to wear their very best? I on the other hand, did not have my Sunday Best on... I am still not feeling so well so I wore more comfortable clothes: A huge sweater and jeans with nice boots. Therefore, I did not honor this outfit with a picture.

After Faith Formation and Mass I headed straight to the grocery store to get some special Epiphany donuts and the ingredients for our special dinner. If you checkout out my Menu Plan Monday Post from earlier in the week, I had something else listed as our dinner for the Epiphany but I came up with a neat idea that incorporated the Three Kings and the Star of Bethlehem. I made Chicken A La King with Star of Bethlehem Biscuits!

We enjoyed an orange juice toast with some yummy donuts before throwing together dinner in the crock pot and enjoying a Family Epiphany nap. When we woke up I got started on those Star of Bethlehem Biscuits! All I did was take a can of Buttermilk biscuits and stretch them out so I could use our Christmas Star cookie cutter to make these festive biscuits for dinner.

Have you ever heard of Chicken a La King? It is similar to a Chicken and Dumplings recipe but instead of dumplings, the Chicken and veggie mixture is served over a puff pastry. I just tweaked the recipe and pour our Chicken and vegetables over biscuits shaped liked stars. Can you see the hiding stars?

After Dinner we did the traditional Chalking of the Door! Have you done it before? If not, it is a great tradition to start with your family! Here is how you do it:

Write the inscription below on your entrance to your home with blessed chalk. The blessings are listed below as well. I wrote the inscription on the doorway while Little Man and Goalie wrote it all over the sidewalk. 

20 + C + M + B + 17

While you write this above your doorway remember to recite:

The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and fifteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.

The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 17 represents the year. 

To bless the chalk prior to "Chalking the Door" recite the following prayer and sprinkle holy water on the chalk:

Loving God, bless this chalk which you have created, that it may be helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name that we who use it in faith to write upon the door of our home the names of your holy ones Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit our home; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

If you did a Chalking of the Door please find me and the Zelie Group on Instagram and share your pictures! It's not to late to do this fun activity with your family... especially if you still have your Christmas decorations still up! Looking for more fun ways to celebrate the Epiphany checkout Seven Activities to Celebrate the Epiphany.

During dinner and our Epiphany activities, we listened to our Christmas music one last time. It was a sad moment when I told the boys I would be putting away the Christmas decor, music and movies. They begged for one last movie so we decided to watch The Little Drummer Boy and snuggled up with some hot chocolate on the couch before we called it a night and headed to bed. How was your Epiphany celebration? Do you take down your decorations? Or do you leave them up until Candlemas? I am sharing this with My Sunday Best.

God Bless!

Seven Activities to Celebrate the Epiphany

Christmas is still not over! Nope! Not yet... Today is the twelfth day of Christmas also known as the Epiphany, Little Christmas or Three Kings Day. The day that commemorates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The traditional date is January 6th but the church will celebrate the Epiphany on the Sunday between January 2th and January 8th. This very special feast has some amazing traditions correlated with it and they certainly can make some lasting memories for your friends and family involved. The Epiphany is celebrated world wide and there are many traditional ways to celebrate and unique ways to celebrate in different countries and cultures. Besides completing your Nativity with the Wise Men, here are seven activities that you can do to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. 

{ONE}

Chalking the Door

Chalking the Door is a great tradition to start with your families! A traditional way of doing this is to use blessed chalk to write above your home’s doorway:

20 + C + M + B + 17

While you write this above your doorway remember to recite:

The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and fifteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.

The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 17 represents the year. 

To bless the chalk prior to "Chalking the Door" recite the following prayer and sprinkle holy water on the chalk:

Loving God, bless this chalk which you have created, that it may be helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name that we who use it in faith to write upon the door of our home the names of your holy ones Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit our home; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

{TWO}

Sing Epiphany Songs

Who doesn't love a great karaoke number? There are two songs that are quintessential to celebrate the Epiphany: We Three Kings of Orient Are and the Twelve Days of Christmas. For obvious reasons you can see why these songs are so perfect. It is traditional to sing and celebrate the Epiphany with Christmas music so don't forget to add these songs on your Epiphany play list. Don't know the songs? I have attached the lyrics below so you can sing until your hearts content!

We Three Kings of Orient Are:

We three kings of Orient are,

bearing gifts we traverse afar,

field and fountain, moor and mountain,

following yonder star.

Refrain:

O star of wonder, star of night,

star with royal beauty bright;

westward leading, still proceeding,

guide us to thy perfect light!

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain,

gold I bring to crown him again,

King for ever, ceasing never

Over us all to reign. (Refrain)

Frankincense to offer have I:

incense owns a Deity nigh;

prayer and praising, gladly raising,

worship him, God Most High. (Refrain)

Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume

Breathes a life of gathering gloom;

sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,

sealed in the stone-cold tomb. (Refrain)

Glorious now behold him arise,

King and God and Sacrifice;

heaven sings, alleluia; 

alleluia the earth replies. (Refrain)

The Twelve Days of Christmas:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves

And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French hens,

Two turtle doves, and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five golden rings,

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six geese a laying,

Five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves

And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a swimming,

Six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens,

Two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a milking,

Seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds,

Three French hens, two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing,

Eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings,

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten lords a leaping,

Nine ladies dancing, eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying,

Five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves

And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven pipers piping,

Ten lords a leaping nine ladies dancing, eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming,

Six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens,

Two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming,

Eleven pipers piping, ten lords a leaping nine ladies dancing, eight maids a milking,

Seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds,

Three French hens, two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree.

{THREE}

The Three Kings Cake

The Three King Cake is a very special treat that can not be forgotten on the Epiphany! It is eaten in honor of the three kings, also known as the Magi or Wise Men. A custom that I really enjoy is when one slice of the King Cake is set aside for God. There are so many different variations of this delicious treat but all have something hidden inside ranging from a plastic baby that represents baby Jesus to chocolate coins. The traditional custom states that whoever finds the baby Jesus or Chocolate Coin must host the party on Candlemas, which falls on February 2nd. I am doing a similar version of this but with cupcakes placed in a circle and a crown as the centerpiece of the presentation. 

I think it would be completely appropriate for you to allow your children to craft some Crowns to wear during the festivities as well.

{FOUR}

Giving Gifts

In several cultures this night is the evening when they receive gifts! In the Spanish culture, children go to bed waiting with anticipation for a visit from the Three Kings. They place snacks for the Kings' camels under their beds or in their shoes near the fireplace on the night of the Epiphany. The next morning, the children awaken to find that the camel snacks are gone and presents are left for them. Sometimes the camels will leave a trail of the hay to lead the children to where their gifts have been placed.

Have you ever heard of Belfana? I think this custom is so amazing because they leave out wine and an orange for Belfana in hope that she will reward them with gifts for good behavior. She is also known to leave coal for the naughty children. The legend states that the Magi invited Belfana to accompany them to visit the Christ Child but she was too busy sweeping her house at the time. She quickly regretted her decision and went out after the Magi, who were all ready far, far ahead of her. She continues her search to this day, riding her broomstick all over the world in search of Jesus. Want to learn more about this legend? Checkout Old Belfana. There is also a song that accompanies Belfana's legend:

La Befana comes at night

In tattered shoes

Dressed in the Roman style

Long live la Befana!

{FIVE}

Decorate With Flowers

Decorating for events is a great way to set the mood of an event. If you are hosting a Twelfth Night Party or a special Epiphany dinner try including an assortment of "Star of Bethlehem" flowers and/or "Mary's Star" flowers. Both are brilliant white flowers that look similar to a star. They would certainly be a great conversational piece for your friends and family. A little less known fact is that there is a legend involving the Magi and a Mary's Star also known as the Ox-Eye Daisy. Legend says that after the Magi followed the Star of Bethlehem into Bethlehem, they stopped because they didn't know where to go. Saint Melchior looked down and saw an Ox-Eye Daisy blooming. He noticed its resemblance to the Star they had followed to Bethlehem and decided to pluck it from the ground. As he did this, the door to the stable where the Holy Family was staying opened, showing the Magi where the Christ Child lay.

{SIX}

Cheers to the Epiphany

What kind of celebration could you enjoy without a special beverage? There are several drinks that I have come across that are encouraged to share on this night. Hot chocolate variations and Cider drinks are all very popular during the feast day, especially since it is Winter and the air has a bite to it most days. A recipe for a drink called Lamb's Wool is a traditional Epiphany drink. I have shared a recipe below:

6 baking apples, cored

2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup brown sugar, depending on sweetness of cider/ale

2 quarts cider, hard cider, ale, or a mixture of cider and ale

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Roast the apples in a baking pan at 450 degrees for around an hour, until they are very soft and bursting open. In a large saucepan, dissolve the sugar a few tablespoons at a time in the liquid of choice, tasting for sweetness. Add the spices. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze all of the pulp from the apples and discard the skins then fluff the puree with a fork and add to the liquid. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and serve immediately. 

I am sure you could make this for children if you simply substitute the hard cider with a sparkling non alcoholic apple cider served in a mug.

{SEVEN}

Woman's Christmas

So although I am in love with all the previous mentioned activities, the next one is definitely my favorite! The Epiphany also known as 'Nollaig na mBean' or Women's Christmas in Ireland is becoming very popular. On the Epiphany the women get the day off and the men do the cooking and the cleaning! Women gather together to meet up to enjoy tea and cakes while their husbands prepare their homes for the Epiphany. I don't know about you, but I don't think my husband would have the time to pull together a Twelfth Night Party with his crazy schedule but I do think it would be a great new tradition to setup a special time around breakfast or lunch to get together with your close women friends and family for some light refreshments. What do you think? Anyone want to come over for some tea and cakes this Sunday? 

Whether you decide to celebrate the Epiphany tonight, this upcoming Sunday or maybe even both nights, remember to create some family memories and traditions! I would love to hear all about your Epiphany celebrations so please tag me in your Instagram or Facebook pictures or comment below with your activities! I will be sharing details about our Epiphany party this Sunday! Now I have a big question for you:

Do you take down your Christmas decorations after the Epiphany or do you leave them up until Candlemas? 

I am going to start a poll on Facebook so please stop by and give me your vote. I am sharing this with This Ain't the Lyceum for Seven Quick Takes.

Have a Blessed Epiphany and God Bless!

My Sunday Best: Christmas Eve Edition

Christmas is the second most important day of the year! Easter being the first because it is the day that we were given everlasting life thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ. But without his birth on Christmas there could be no death or Resurrection. I love the Christmas season so much! The catching melodies of carols, the gorgeous lights, the happiness that is emitted from everyone you come across. It is purely magical, possibly a small heaven on Earth experience. 

We attended the Christmas Eve Mass at our Parish this year to celebrate the birth of Jesus because our boys were singing in the Christmas Eve Children's Choir. We were all dressed in our Sunday Best and wish big smiles! Goalie was the most excited about being part of the choir. He feels a little left out since Little Man gets to altar serve frequently and he isn't old enough to really participate in the Mass except from the pews with me. He is always upset during Communion too because yet again it's just something he can't do. His attitude toward Mass was completely different this night. I'm sure you can feel his excitement from his huge smile! These amazing outfits were gifts from family and the boys opened them up during the O Antiphon celebration on December 22nd to celebrate O Rex Gentium or O King of the nations. They get new outfits "fit for a king".... at least that's how we have explained it. The boys normally get a nice outfit for the Christmas season on this night but they were also lucky enough to get brand new shoes too! I think it's funny but the boys were a little disappointed they didn't get haircuts before their big debut, they normally don't like getting haircuts but I love that they wanted to look their absolute best for Jesus on his special night. 

Upon entering our church, I was so excited to see how beautifully the place was decorated. Filled with beautiful Christmas trees lit up with classic white lights, poinsettias everywhere and a gorgeous Nativity with an eye-catching star hanging above it. It's not pictured but there where teardrop wreaths at the end of every other pew and beautiful evergreen wreaths along the stations of the cross as you walked into the church as well. Just a picture perfect adoration of the church to honor Jesus and the Christmas season.

One of my most favorite part of the Vigil Mass is when they Bless the Nativity. I love the aroma of the incense and the reverence that is shown while it is being blessed by the altar servers. It's just a beautiful tradition that I look forward to each and every Christmas Eve. What is your favorite part? The songs? The prayers? The addition friends and family joining us in celebrating? There is just so much to this feast day that it is hard to choose the best parts!

Another amazing moment from the Christmas Eve Vigil was when Monsignor invited all the children to sit with him while he read Santa and the Christ Child. As you can see, the children all sat so still to listen to this beautiful story and one of the younger children crawled into Monsignor's lap. I think this will be a purchase for next year to add to our Christmas Book Collection!

Don't think I forgot about video taping some of the Children Choir! If you are interested in hearing the beautifully sang song, Rise Up Shepherds and Follow, by the Children's Christmas Choir, please checkout my Instagram page! It should be one of my most recent posts, as I have been taking a small hiatus from social media to really enjoy this season with my family!

After Mass, the boys were full of energy! We headed home and finally got to open that special Christmas Eve gift they had been dying to rip apart all day! The gift was from Buddy the Elf since it was  his last night with us until next year and it included Star Wars Christmas pajamas, popcorn and the movie Risen! After baking Santa's cookies we enjoyed some hot chocolate and snuggled while we watched our movie before heading to bed. I mean the kids went to bed... my husband and I had to stay up for Santa duties (making sure he enjoyed the cookies and cocoa of course) and watched Scrooged. I hope you had an amazing Advent season and are enjoying this truly magical season of Christmas. I am sharing this with A Blog for my Mom for her fun My Sunday Best linkup.

God Bless!

Menu Plan Monday: Christmas Edition

I had to take some time off the past week to really enjoy this beautiful season of Advent with my family. I enjoyed it so much we have been "winging" it all week and so far it's been ok but now I am feeling the need to get reorganized, finish my baking and cleaning and be ready for Christmas! I am starting a bullet journal, revamping our menu plans and so much more for the upcoming year. Do you have a Winter Bucket list? I would love to hear what you have planned. 

Back to the main event.. our menu for Menu Plan Monday: 

Monday:

KFC Family Dinner

Tuesday:

Turkey Meatloaf and Salad

Wednesday: First Day of Winter

Cheddar Broccoli Soup with French Bread

Thursday:

Spaghetti and turkey meatballs

Friday:

Vegetable Stir Fry

Saturday: Christmas Eve

Eating Out or Pizza

Sunday: Christmas Day

Christmas Ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, christmas cookies and much much more!

I won't be sharing a recipe here this week because...as a thank you to all my readers, I offered some amazing Christmas recipes with help from the Zelie Group. If you are interested in receiving these beautiful printables check out A Special Holiday Present For You! There is also 10 hours left in my Christmas Giveaway! Want to win a beautiful metal stamped bracelet?! Checkout Keeping Christ in Christmas and join the raffle.

#WorthRevisit: Getting in the Holiday Spirit

A lot has changed over the past few years and man oh man has this family learned some hard lessons about being humble, frugal and appreciating what you have. The true meanings of Advent and Christmas are about love, family and sacrifice. This holiday season has been amazing and I still have much to share about all of our experiences since I have been on a small hiatus. I promise to bombard you with recipes, ideas, crafts and pictures in the upcoming weeks! For my #WorthRevisit post with Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb, I thought I would share about one of the most difficult Christmas seasons we had as a family. I was a single parent, completely broke, I was working three jobs that took so much of my time. We were blessed with giving friends and family and we would never be able to fully give enough thanks to the ones that were there for us while we struggled to find happiness in the struggle. I am beyond grateful for the time I have been given back to enjoy my children and husband and that God always provides.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Sorry I have not been blogging much lately but thank you for the kind emails asking how myself and my children are doing. Your prayers have touched our hearts! I am finally getting settled into a new routine with my kids. I am hoping to incorporate blogging more but since it has been such a long time here is a summary of our Advent and Christmas preparations and celebrations.

God truly provides. My kids and I have been blessed with my friends and family members coming to aid us during our greatest life change. At times it's hard to imagine what plan God has for us but I am beginning to see that his plans are more amazing than anything I could plan for myself and my family. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue down our new path.

Since I have not been blogging consistently there is so much I would like to share so I will apologize in advance because the rest of this is going to look like a mini scrapbook with random thoughts and pictures. I will try to keep everything short and sweet :)

Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree
We decided to purchase a real tree this year and the kids were so excited running through the forest or trees on display. It was a beautiful night and the smell of the Christmas trees and wreaths was amazing. I hope one day I can take the kids to actually cut down a Christmas Tree. 

Decorating the Tree
We were going to wait to decorate our beautiful tree but the boys were so excited after buying ornaments and lights that we couldn't say no. I think putting our gorgeous Star on the top was their favorite part of the entire experience.

Feast of Saint Nicholas

I absolutely love reading Jessica from Shower of Roses blog on all her traditions with her family. I wanted to write letters to the boys from Saint Nick but I had been working extra shifts due to the seasonal rush this time of year and starting a second job.

This year Saint Nicholas brought the boys some Christmas books, The Legend of the Candy Cane and A Christmas Prayer. There was also chocolate coins and candy canes with Christmas socks filled with several real gold $1 coins.

Squishy's Holiday Program

Squishy had the cutest holiday program at his daycare for the children ages 3 and under.

His class sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Although none of the children really sang, it was more the parents in the audience since the children were overwhelmed. Squishy was sitting next to a little boy wearing a Rudolph nose and stared at the blinking light on the little boys face until half way though the song he decided to poke the poor kid on the nose. It was hilarious! I will always remember this production and I am so excited to see Squishy participate in more programs like this soon.

Baking Gingerbread Cookies
Decorating cookies has always been a favorite activity for Little Man during the holidays. This time Squishy was able to participate but he chose to eat the cookie decorations instead of decorating his cookies.

I am hoping to post about Christmas Day soon... I have until Candlemas though right? In addition to the activities above we also decorated gingerbread houses and went for a walk through Christmas Reflections. I tried my best to incorporate our normal traditions but this Christmas was a very simple one due to lack of time and money. I think it actually made it one of the most meaningful Christmases we have shared as a family. I also have some ideas about celebrating The Baptism of the Lord this upcoming Sunday I would like to share along with a review of The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and families!

God Bless!

Keeping Christ in Christmas and {GIVEAWAY}

Over the years , the Advent and Christmas seasons have somehow lost their uniqueness and their TRUE meanings. Advent is the four weeks prior to Christmas and is meant to be a time to prepare or the coming of Christ. It is a time of anticipation and longing. This is when we clean our homes, eliminate clutter and decorate. We begin cooking special treats that will be shared during the Christmas season. If you are still searching for some ideas on how to make your Advent season more Holy check out my entire Advent series below:

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 1

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 2

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 3

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 4

Now, Christmas is the season following Advent and is so much more than one day of unwrapping presents. The Christmas season is actually much longer and means so much more! The official end to Christmas ends with the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Why are we in such a hurry to finish celebrating the birth of our Savior? I am going to share some ideas that will help you recenter the focus of your Christmas season.

Christmas Day: December 25th

The most important thing to remember today is that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is his birthday! If you take a look at all the family traditions you have on this special day from the perspective of you celebrating baby Jesus's birthday, everything will become more meaningful. Those presents under your tree are not just presents, but gifts that Jesus wants you to use to spread joy and love because he is the light of the world. Another easy and simple way to make today about Jesus is to bake him a Birthday Cake! You could even top them with candles: one for each family member, or even put the year written out with number candles. Today is also the day we light our Christ Candles. If you have a nativity displayed, now would be a perfect time to start moving the wise men a little closer to the Nativity each day, until they arrive on the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day.

Feast of Holy Innocents: December 28th

The feast of Holy Innocents is celebrated in remembrance of all the babies that were martyred while King Herod was searching for the baby Jesus. Today is also known as the youngest day. It is traditional to allow the youngest child to dictate the day and to celebrate with special treats that are white and red. White represents the purity of the innocent children and red represents their blood that was shed. Start a new tradition of blessing your children before bed with holy water each night. I know my boys love it! 

O Lord, omnipotent Father, we give you thanks for having given us children. They are our joy, and we accept with serenity the worries, fear and labors which bring us pain. Help us to love them sincerely. Through us you gave life to them; from eternity you knew them and loved them. Give us wisdom to guide them, patience to teach them, vigilance to accustom them to the good through our example.

Support our love so that we may receive them back when they have strayed and make them good. It is often so difficult to understand them, to be as they would want us to be, to help them to go on their way. Grant that they may always see our home as a haven in their time of need. Teach us and help us, O good Father, through the merits of Jesus, your Son and our Lord. Amen.

Feast of the Holy Family: December 30th

The Feast of the Holy Family is not just about the Holy Family, but about our own families too. The main purpose of the Feast is to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families, and for domestic life in general. This is a day to celebrate the "domestic church" within your home.

O most loving Jesus, Who by Thy sublime and beautiful virtues of humility, obedience, poverty, modesty, charity, patience and gentleness, and by the example of Thy domestic life, didst bless with peace and happiness the family Thou didst choose on earth, in Thy clemency look down upon this household, humbly prostrate before Thee and imploring Thy mercy. Remember that this family belongs to Thee; for to Thee we have in a special way dedicated and devoted ourselves. Look upon us in Thy loving kindness; preserve us from danger; give us help in time of need, and grant us the grace to persevere to the end in the imitation of Thy Holy Family; that having revered Thee and loved Thee faithfully on earth, we may bless and praise Thee eternally in heaven.

O Mary, most sweet Mother, to thy intercession we have recourse, knowing that thy Divine Son will hear thy prayers.

And do thou, O glorious Patriarch, St. Joseph, assist us by thy powerful mediation, and offer, by the hands of Mary, our prayers to Jesus. Amen.

Feast of Mary, Mother of God: January 1st

This is the first Holy Day of Obligation for the New Year. It's fitting that it is the first day of the New Year as well. Calling Mary "mother of God" is the highest honor we can give Mary. Just as Christmas honors Jesus as the "Prince of Peace," the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God honors Mary as the "Queen of Peace" This solemnity is also designated the World Day of Peace.

Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus: January 3rd

Today we celebrate Jesus being named. It is after his circumcision and in honor of Mary fulfilling what the angel foretold. 

Feast of the Epiphany: January 8th

Today is known as the day the three wise men came to see the new born king. It is known as the Epiphany and Three Kings Day. It is traditional to have a celebration on this day that includes enjoying a King Cake and blessing your home with blessed chalk. On your home paint the letters "20+C+M+B+17" which are for the Latin Christus Mansionem Benedicat (Christ bless this house). At the same time the letters are the first letters of the names of the wise men: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. 

Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord: January 9th

This is the "official" end of the Christmas season and is time to remove the Christmas decorations. It is custom if you have a real Christmas tree to celebrate the end of this magical season with a bonfire. Celebrate a renewal of your own Baptismal vows and finish off your Christmas treats today.

In addition to these special feast days and their traditions, remember to keep Christ in Christmas by sending Christmas Cards, singing Christmas Carols, plan a Twelfth Night party! I came across this neat resource called Why Christmas? and it has many online games including build your own nativity and build your own wisemen! Want to see more? Make sure to come back and see how I celebrate with my family throughout the Christmas season.

I am sharing this post with the CWBN Blog Hop. The hoppers participating here - affectionately calling ourselves the Siena Sisters* -- will post on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. The posts go live at the same time; and are all linked to this central landing page; allowing for easier visiting between blogs. We hope you will read many of them; as well as comment on the posts, and share them on social media.

In honor of Keeping Christ in Christmas I am running my first ever Giveaway thanks to the amazingly talented Jen from Faith and Fabric! The winner will get to pick one of the beautiful metal cuff bracelets stamped with "Pinot Noir and Prayers". Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seven Reasons You Should Write and Send Christmas Cards

Advent season is a time of preparation and anticipation of the birth of Christ. Christmas cards are an exceptional way to celebrate the Advent season and can accomplish so much more than you can imagine. Below are seven reasons that you should both write and send out those Christmas cards this season. This is a simple act that will send a positive change into the world.

{ONE}

EVANGELIZING:

As Catholics, we are called to share the important news of our Savior and the promise that his birth, death and resurrection mean to us all. Sending a beautiful Christmas Card with a Nativity portrait and filled with words of hope, love and joy is a beautiful reminder of the real reason for the season and it may be the only time someone you knows gets told of the wonderful gift that Jesus's birth is to their families and the entire world. 

It is a tradition in my home that we send out our Christmas cards on December 17th because it is the first day of the O Antiphons and we celebrate the name of Jesus of O Wisdom on this night. Don't be shy to share your love of Jesus and touch the heart of those that need to learn of his love. 

{TWO}

MEMORIES:

The art of handwriting letters, notes and cards is a dying art. I have a small collection of letters and special mementos from over the years that bring me great joy from throughout the year: Mother's Day letter's from my children, love notes from my husband and words of encouragement from friends. Create a work of art that can be saved and enjoyed over the coming Advent and Christmas seasons. These beautifully written pieces will one day be what you leave behind for your friends and family to remember you and the happiness you brought to their lives.

{THREE}

COUNSELING THE DOUBTFUL:

Depending on your relations within your family and friends, you could be completing a Spiritual Act of Mercy with sending out those beautiful Christmas cards. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you hand write a special message to those you love this Advent season. Of the Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, there are four that I could easily see being accomplished through your Christmas Card:

Maybe you have a friend or family member dealing with a crisis of faith? Your Christmas Card could bring light to them in a time of darkness and help counsel them back to their faith. God works in mysterious ways and you never know when you are being called to do his good work.

{FOUR}

INSTRUCTING THE IGNORANT:

This is another Spiritual Work of Mercy. We all know people that are not taught in the Catholic faith, or maybe have questions about it. A simple card could with an invitation to Mass or Christmas dinner could be the action that opens their hearts and eyes to the love of the Catholic faith. You might be their only link to Catholicism and God is asking you to be their light in the darkness.

{FIVE}

COMFORTING THE SORROWFUL:

The holiday season can be more sorrowful and sad to those that may be dealing with a void of a loved one; whether this be though death, distance or other circumstance. An older widow celebrating their first Christmas without their spouse, a parent who is dealing with an empty nest, a family that is torn by an argument, the list can go on and on. Reach out to someone that has a hurting heart by showing love and compassion for them during this difficult time.

Deployed Soldiers, Wounded Warriors, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Homeless Shelters and so many other places are always looking for a way to comfort the sorrowful.

{SIX}

FORGIVING INJURIES:

The final Spiritual Work of Mercy you could complete is through forgiving. Forgiveness is hard and can almost feel impossible in certain circumstances. Reaching out to someone that has betrayed you, not only helps show your forgiveness, but can be an amazing gift to offer someone during this season of hope, love and joy. Free yourself of the anger and rebuild relationships that have been broken with the love of God at the center.

There are two sides to this coin: What about asking for forgiveness? If you have wronged someone and not apologized fully or maybe not at all, ask for forgiveness and mean it. Feel sorrow and guilt and attempt to fix your wrong doings with penance.

{SEVEN}

KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS

This is one of the most important reasons you should take the time to write and send those Christmas cards this year. The true meaning of Christmas is often overshadowed with the commercialism of gifts, the distraction of shiny new things and to be drawn into the masses of the overwhelming majority that don't celebrate Jesus during Christmas. Take the time for yourself and your family to sit together and pray before you write out your family Christmas cards. Ask that the words you share are ones that help grow your faith and the faith of the recipients as well. Be still and feel the anticipation and longing that is the season of Advent before celebrating the birth of or Savior.

If you are still searching for the perfect place to get your Christmas cards or Holiday invitations, please consider Paperless Post! In addition to offering beautiful and unique products, if you purchase from their RED Christmas Collection, you are supporting the fight against AIDS. Another important aspect of the Christmas and Advent season is charity, so your purchase would help you and help others! This is a special holiday partnership and your support would be greatly appreciated! Remember it is not too late! The Christmas season doesn't end on December 25th, it is only the beginning! You still have time to send out those very special and meaningful Christmas cards.

This is just one of many ideas that you can use to keep Christ in Christmas. I am sharing this with Seven Quick Takes.

Feast of Saint Ambrose: Celebrate the Light of the World

I can not believe how quick and smoothly this Advent has been! Today is the feast of Saint Ambrose and we kept it quick and simple. Saint Ambrose is one of four Doctors of the Church and has some amazing stories to accompany his great stature as a saint. There is a legend that when Saint Ambrose was just an baby, a swarm of bees landed on his face but instead of stinging him, left behind a drop of honey. To his father, this was a sign that Ambrose would become someone with a special talent for speaking. As an adult, Saint Ambrose became the bishop of Milan. He donated all of his land and money to the poor. These reasons and many more made him extremely popular among the people and even more politically powerful than the emperor at times. He is the patron saint of bee keepers, beggars, learning and Milan.

To start our morning, we were welcomed with another note from Buddy the Elf reminding us of this very special feast day. He brought us some candles and requested that we make our Christ Candle today. Creating the Christ Candle is a very fun and appropriate craft since bees are known for their wonderful wax.

As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, we easily created our Christ Candle with a gold Sharpie and a glass candle from the Dollar Tree. Placing the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent wreath is a great way to incorporate it into your Advent celebrations. It is something to anticipate and you light it on Christmas because we have been graced with the Light of the World.

After we finished our Christ Candle, we enjoyed a nice family dinner of Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken. It was modified slightly from the recipe I shared on my Menu Plan Monday post because I forgot to defrost my chicken breasts! So I cooked everything in the crockpot on high in the crockpot for 2 hours and then grilled the chicken until it was cooked fully. It turned out amazing!

I am now enjoying a nice cup of mint tea with honey to end today's festivities! How is your Advent progressing? It's not too late to make it the best Advent ever! Just let me know if you need some suggestions or help... I have tons of resources to share!

Penitential Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan:

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,

take away from me my sins,

and mercifully kindle in me

the fire of thy Holy Spirit.

Take away from me the heart of stone,

and give me a heart of flesh,

a heart to love and adore Thee,

a heart to delight in Thee,

to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake

Amen

Saint Ambrose, pray for us!

Saint Andrew and the Christmas Novena

November 30th is the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle. He was first a follower of John the Baptist and then Saint Andrew became the first Apostle of Jesus. This particular feast has a lot of strange traditions for unmarried women. In Europe, tradition states that single women who wish to marry ask for Saint Andrew for assistance. The night before his feast, they should sleep naked and they should dream about their future husband. There is another tradition that says that unmarried women should pay attention to the direction of barking dogs on Saint Andrew’s Eve, that is the direction that their future husband will come from that direction. On the day after the feast of Saint Andrew, young men and women gather cups and write their names and "priest" on the cups. The cups are then set to float in a tub. If a specific boy‘s and a girl‘s cup drift together and are met by the cup with “priest” written across, it indicates marriage.

In honor of this patron saint of fisherman, it felt only acceptable to enjoy a seafood feast. I decided to bake some breaded cod, coconut shrimp, shrimp tempura and panko crusted shrimp with grilled asparagus and quinoa. It was a hit with the whole family. NO LEFTOVERS! We also got to finish off some sparking apple cider from Thanksgiving!

Tonight was also the evening we decided to decorate our Christmas tree. It has been a family tradition to decorate our tree on Thanksgiving evening but with my increased work schedule we had to push it off. I really wish that I could convince my family to wait until closer to Christmas to setup and decorate the tree but it's hard to break a tradition we've been honoring for as long as my kids can remember. Another special tradition we have to celebrate our Christmas tree, is we add special ornaments each year that represent accomplishments or something special that we hope to remember and we add that ornament on Christmas Eve. We still are on the hunt for our ornament for this year... I can't wait to share what we decide to get. Do you have traditions surrounding your tree? ornaments? something else?

After the tree decorating and enjoying some hot beverages, (hot cocoa for the kids and hot tea for me and the hubby) we moved onto the kids' Advent Adventures with Holy Heroes. Are you participating? If not, you should! It has been part of our Advent tradition for the past several years and it is amazing! Today the Advent Adventure included information on Saint Andrew, which only added to the excitement of this feast day!

Today is the day to start a famously known novena called the Christmas Novena. You say it fifteen times a day until Christmas Day. It is said that anyone who completes the novena will not be denied their request. I will be completing my novena tonight while I am finishing my Advent devotions.

Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment

At which the Son of God was born

Of a most pure Virgin

At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem

In the piercing cold

At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

To hear my prayers and grant my desires

(mention request here). 

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Saint Andrew, pray for us!