| Author | |
Bella
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 18 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 571
|
| Posted: March 11 2008 at 6:45am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Hi Ladies,
I would love to hear of the different traditions your family practices during this very Holy time.
Many thanks,
__________________
Peace and Blessings,
Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Jess
Forum Pro
Joined: July 25 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 372
|
| Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:40am | IP Logged
|
|
|
For Holy Week we like to keep it simple so we can focus on the meaning of the week. We usually take this week off from lessons, but we have had a lot of time off so far this year so I think we will just do a little bit at the beginning of the week and take off starting Holy Thursday. My dh is being received into the Church this Easter   so I really want to do all of the things we can as a family, like Mass and Stations. So we will attend Holy Thursday Mass together as a family and hopefully stay for adoration for a little while. Then our parish has a Good Friday children's service with Stations of the Cross that we will attend (hopefully dh will have the day off and can go, but if not we might go to the evening service too). After the morning service our homeschool group is doing a service project at the church. We are cleaning up trash in the field behind it and pulling weeds in the Rosary garden. We also will have a quiet time from Noon until 3pm on Good Friday, meaning no tv, music, computer, phone, and as little talking as possible. We will probably do a lot of house cleaning on Good Friday too. If Easter were later this year we would have planted our garden on Good Friday, so instead we will clean. Then on Holy Saturday we will attend the Easter vigil with my dh. We will continue praying the Rosary as a family every night (that was one of our Lenten resolutions) and I am praying that we keep that time every night after Easter too.
I am looking forward to seeing what other families do during Holy Week.
__________________
God bless,
Jess
+JMJ+
wife to dh('96)
mama to dd(13), dd(11), ds(9), dd(6), and dd (2), and baby girl born Sept 14!
star cottage
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Lara Sauer
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 15 2007
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 679
|
| Posted: March 11 2008 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
In addition to all of the wonderful services at the church throughout the Triduum, we like to have a "Tenebrae" service in our house. There is a Tenebrae service that we follow in the Magnificat. We do it on the mornings on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, although I imagine other times would be appropriate as well. We set up a small shrine somewhere that we can leave up for the next two days. You also need three candles which will be extinguished during the readings/prayers and one white candle that symbolizes Christ that wil be removed from the room to symbolize his light being removed from us by His passion and death. At the end, the children get to stomp their feet and pound books on the floor to mimic the earthquake. (Needless to say, this is their favorite part!  ) It is really a beautiful addition to our Holy Week celebration. Here is a link for an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia about tenebrae.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14506a.htm
In addition to this, I bake hot cross buns on Good Friday (NEVER at any other time of the year) and that is usually our only food, except for dinner.
From noon until 3pm, we observe total silence in our house.
I look forward to reading other peoples' ideas.
__________________
You can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the girl!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Matilda
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2007
Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1827
|
| Posted: March 11 2008 at 4:09pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We have lots of little traditions but our biggest one is the Passover supper we have on Holy Thursday. I hesitate to call it a "seder meal" only because there is no order or organization to it. We always have gyros made with lamb (and tzatziki sauce), greek salads to represent the bitter herbs and some kind of fruit salad to stand in for the Charoset. I tried some authentic charoset last year and it was not liked by anyone so this year, I will probably make some fruit salsa which is along the same lines.
This is a tradition that my kids look forward to all year long!!!
__________________
Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11 , 10 , 9 & 5 ) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: March 12 2008 at 12:34am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Like Lara mentioned the Tenebrae service is amazing. We have not done one at home but have attended one at a local church the past two years on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. It is a very moving and emotional experience. We have done modified tenebrae at home - extinquishing candles representing each of the stations.
One Holy Thursday tradition that I want to do "one of these years" is the Seven Churches Visitation. The faithful make pilgrimage to seven different local churches, at which Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament continues until late into the night. I have seen it as both a Polish and Italian tradition. I have a friend from Chicago that says it was common there growing up. Unfortunately we will be traveling this year and not able to do it. Some day.
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
missionfamily
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 10 2007
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1859
|
| Posted: March 12 2008 at 12:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We have a wonderful Holy Friday tradition here. In New Orleans, the nine of the oldest churches in the city are within walking distance of one another. It is tradition to walk the distance, praying the rosary as you walk and the Stations at the churches. Since we have moved to Southwest Louisiana, some other New Orleans friends have revised the tradition for here. We gather as families and start with prayer in the morning, then drive to nine different churches, praying the rosary in our cars. We pray some of the stations at each church. The last stop on our journey is the nearby University, where the Catholic parish puts on a very well done live Passion play in the park that runs through campus. Some stay for three o'clock and others take a break. We all bring bread and water and simple snacks for the kids to share. It is really a lovely way for families to live their faith together.
__________________
Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: March 12 2008 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Seems the big cities have the church visiting, because in Pittsburgh they also have the 7 churches on Holy Thursday.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
fsuadamson
Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 16 2005
Location: Georgia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 190
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 12:06pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm posting late here (battling the flu bug  )... Last year I posted our family traditions for Holy week here, here, here and here. If anyone is interested in taking a peek.
Matilida, I love the idea of the fruit salsa. We've done plain applesauce in the past for my kids haven't cared for the taste of authentic haroseth either. I definitely think we will make the salsa this year!
__________________
Leslie
dh Dave; dd19; dd17; ds14; dd12; ds9; dd7
Knotty Pines Academy
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Matilda
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2007
Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1827
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 12:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
The one I use is a Pampered Chef recipe called Harvest Apple Salsa (which I can't find online) but it is very forgiving and can be used with many substitutions. Do you have a fruit salsa recipe you like?
__________________
Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maryan
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 02 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3145
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 12:18pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Amongst other traditions... we do our version of 7 churches in my childhood hometown (we always travel for Easter) after Holy Thursday Mass.
We go to the three Catholic Churches in town... and pray a decade of the rosary in the car on the way there - they are definitely not in walking distance!
As a kid, it broke up adoration a bit, so we actually spent more time in front of Our Lord than we would have it we stayed in one place. 
My mom said that it was common when she was growing up -- she did live in a city for a few years growing up. I'll have to ask her if she's ever made all 7 churches.
__________________
Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bella
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 18 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 571
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 3:02pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks Ladies!
I have enjoyed reading about your family traditions.... I love the togetherness and richness that you've all woven into the week.
I know DD participated in a Passover meal when she was in CGS.
Well,I will talk this over with my family, and see what we decide upon.
Right now, two of the four of us have fevers, so I am just praying that we make it to Mass for Palm Sunday.
__________________
Peace and Blessings,
Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
chicken lady
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 27 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2315
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 3:07pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JennGM wrote:
| , because in Pittsburgh they also have the 7 churches on Holy Thursday. |
|
|
They do??? I did not know this, where did you find this info Jenn, we would love to go?
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
pixilated_momma
Forum Pro
Joined: Sept 04 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 192
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks for getting this thread going. It's making me think and plan ahead!
Our only tradition really is to try and have a quieter, more reflective week. We unplug --- the kids only watching an EWTN show in the afternoon, my not having my beloved TCM flicks going at night, no music aside from meditative music.
On Good Friday, we do Stations of the Cross, then (relatively)quietly listen to Gregorian chant and color some Easter eggs. (This year we'll try some to also bake an Greek Easter bread.) We'll watch *part* of "Jesus of Nazareth" (some of the parable-y parts). In the past,we've talked about the crucifixion, but I'm not sure if they could handle the actual viewing of that part yet. They are little and very sensitive. (Which is good, right? I'd hate for them to be indifferent to it ...)
That's about it for Holy Week. Wow, we're slackers in comparison to everyone else. Maybe I'll plan some more stuff ...
__________________
Veronica Maria
Paper Dali, my art blog
Sometimes Bailey, my creativity blog
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: March 15 2008 at 7:30pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
chicken lady wrote:
JennGM wrote:
| , because in Pittsburgh they also have the 7 churches on Holy Thursday. |
|
|
They do??? I did not know this, where did you find this info Jenn, we would love to go? |
|
|
I don't think it was a group thing, but I found out about it from a FUS grad student who was a native Pittsburgher. He took us around 7 churches. We started at St. Paul's Cathedral for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, then places like St. Patrick's with the Scala Sancta, the Polish Church...I'm hazy as to all the churches. Some we planned we closed, though, that one year.
And my husband also did the 7 churches with his friend when dh lived in Pittsburgh.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SallyT
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 08 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2489
|
| Posted: March 24 2008 at 5:58pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I just posted today about what we did during the Triduum.
Fun to read about everyone else's Holy Week.
Sally
__________________
Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Holy Week Traditions?
