| Author | |
St. Ann
Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 20 2006
Location: Germany
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2137
|
| Posted: Nov 14 2013 at 1:51am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Now that my youngest is almost 10 I have noticed that the way we celebrate Feast days is changing. Traditionally, we have gone out singing with our lanterns on St. Martin and then playing the story of the poor beggar and the Saint sharing his cloak, cocoa and more songs, sharing a special "Martin's goose".... We don't have a St. Martin church in our area.
We did get together with a young family with children 6,4 and 1. There we did celebrate "as always", which is a comforting transition for me. I am beginning to mourn this stage of wonder passing. 
In our family we are moving toward "just" reading the liturgical texts of the day and on special Saints' days a short biographical story. The girls are taking charge of flower arrangements being refreshed on these days and they still read through one or two of the picture books I might pull off the shelf. Sometimes I wonder if it is nostalgia????
Supporting this family will definitely be part of our ever growing and changing tradition...for which I am very thankful.
How are your feast day celebrations at home changing as your children grow? Are you also mourning?
__________________
Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SeaStar
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9068
|
| Posted: Nov 14 2013 at 5:26am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Well, here we are long past the days of coloring sheets for the saints, which was pretty standard for us for special feast days.
We still read special picture books- I don't think anyone ever grows tired of them, especially since they might be read only once a year.
We have the "Saints for Young Readers for Everyday" set of books, and every day for years we have been reading the daily bios from that book. What I am noticing is that's a very powerful thing- there are several saints that now seem like old friends, and when their feast days come up, we are happy to see them again and remember about their lives.
So while changing the traditions is hard, reading the texts and bios is a very good thing. I know what you are saying about change, though 
I keep hoping we can move into using some of the Catholic Cuisine feast day recipes and ideas... my dc like to cook. That would be a fun new twist.
__________________
Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: Nov 14 2013 at 6:36am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Stephanie,
I know what you mean. Our feast days still have that flavor of wonder and celebration that I enjoy so much since I still have littles around, but my older kids have matured/are maturing in their faith, so celebrating and living the feast is different for them. Things we do with the teens/olders:
** I've tried to find more novels and deeper non-fiction to give them for a feast. I try to find books that fit, explain, or expand on some of the big feasts: Solemnities and First Class Feasts if I can. It takes some time sometimes to research books for them, but it was one of my personal goals to stretch toward this year.
** My big kids enjoy coordinating some of the liturgical celebrations with our littles now that they're older. They read the picture book. They set up the craft. They coordinate the liturgical hymn/music time. Maybe your girls would be willing to do a monthly liturgical year co-op with some of the younger families in the area? Then they could be on the receiving end of all of that wonder a young child brings to a feast day!
** Cooking is something both my teens enjoy doing, and they like planning menus around a feast and cooking with the liturgical year.
** Now that my daughter is older (she'll be 17 in a couple of months) and graduates this spring, and after growing up living these feasts, I wanted her to understand why - where these traditions came from, the history of the liturgy and the origin of some of these traditions, and how important our Catholic Culture is...so I've been slowly collecting all my favorite liturgical year books so that she has her own copies when she starts her family. So, her reading is more historical and liturgical background now, rather than the picture books of yester-year.
** Tea-time reading was always something I thought of doing with my littles, but I'm beginning to envision how it can look with older children. My teens love to stay up late and visit. They crave time with mom and dad when the little ones aren't around so much. Usually, this involves a movie. My teens are both a great age to appreciate and enjoy movies that are based on the life of a saint. Ignatius Press has several that are really great, but there are so many that are wonderful and work well around the liturgical year! While these movies are truly fantastic, they're often too intense for my littles, but perfect for enriching the feast with teens! Also, I was thinking of working with an idea of maybe hot chocolate in the evening and discussing a liturgical season, or a particular saint, or just having time to get their thoughts from the liturgical book they might be reading. Just time to stay connected, but bringing more mature faith thoughts to the table, so to speak.
--------------------------------
Part of me is definitely a little wistful, remembering so fondly that time when all my kids were little and all enjoyed curling up around me for a picture book. And then I remember some of the challenges of that time...when all the kids were little...and WHOA!!! I'm singing the praises of life with biggers again!  Seriously though, I'm enjoying the challenging and deeper/meatier faith conversations my older kids bring me. It's a nice change and it makes me grow and stretch in my faith, too. I do have this growing awareness that I have older children that are about ready to step out into the world...and still have an infant in arms. I'm definitely very grateful, but I'm coming full circle - the things I did and so enjoyed with my older two, I'm now repeating with my 5 and 8 yo, and will again when the baby is older.
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: Nov 14 2013 at 9:32am | IP Logged
|
|
|
What Jen said has been my entire philosophy. I've been thinking on this especially this week, as I'm currently working on a writing project.
The point of the feast day "doings" is to bring the child to enter deeply and live and love the Liturgy in their life. This is to nurture their spiritual lives, to teach them how to go deeper and sustain their love for Christ and His Church.
But traditions need to point and reflect the quiet, deeper, spiritual side of the feasts and seasons. And as a child gets older, there is a definite shift. There is less stress on crafting and "doing" and more direction on social aspects, and just "being". There is deeper reflection of the older person on where they fit into the Mystical Body, person introspection and examination of conscience, and also how to help the Church. There is a "going out" and apostolic view -- and a smaller child has a smaller worldview.
I personally experienced this shift when I was growing up. I am the oldest of 7 children, and it was the older siblings who created and prepared and helped the youngers enter into the Liturgical Year celebrations. At that older age I still got to do the crafting and feasting, but it was in the act of giving and charity.
And that phase brought me deeper into reading. Again, just what Jen said. Chapter books, deeper reading of saint biographies and stories related to the feasts. Also I enjoyed reading non-fiction sources like Father Francis Weiser who gives the background on feast day celebrations...known as heortology, "the historical science that explains the origin and meaning of feasts."
There is also reading on the meaning of the liturgy, of the readings of the day, like Pius Parsch and "In Conversation with God". Just the meditations of the day from the "Magnificat" are great jumping points.
The older age allows more participation in the Liturgy, praying more with the Communion of Saints by reading the Mass readings, the Collects of the Day, perhaps praying one of the hours of the Divine Office, even if abbreviated like the ones in the "Magnificat".
The conversations become deeper. We read the saint of the day, and there are conversations about the history or culture of the time, the meaning of the symbolism, the heroic virtue of the saint. What does this all mean to me? How can I imitate?
I also think this is an example of Masterly Inactivity.
It's not to say we don't have fun just because the child is older. Even if we don't "do" those fun activities, my older son loves finding out the traditions from various cultures.
And if we do something, it's more of a bigger, longer project, to create something beautiful and more meaningful and permanent -- write in calligraphy and illustrate a Bible passage, sewing something in liturgical colors for the family altar, building a manger, singing a choral piece, learning to play a musical piece, learning chant....
But back to the Masterly Inactivity idea (and some of Maria Montessori's philosophy for this age), I can perhaps strew hints, but the ideas and concepts need to be mainly theirs, as their own expression of how this is coming together in their hearts and minds.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: Nov 14 2013 at 10:30am | IP Logged
|
|
|
JennGM wrote:
And if we do something, it's more of a bigger, longer project, to create something beautiful and more meaningful and permanent -- write in calligraphy and illustrate a Bible passage, sewing something in liturgical colors for the family altar, building a manger, singing a choral piece, learning to play a musical piece, learning chant....
|
|
|
ETA a few more things that I see happening, like putting on plays, or acting out with Lego or Playmobil, building replicas with blocks, etc.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
LLMom
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 19 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 995
|
| Posted: Nov 15 2013 at 6:41am | IP Logged
|
|
|
My older kids respond to food. Some of them like to cook it, and all of them love to eat it! While they no longer care or want the story books and songs, they are always insistent on something to eat. And it is a time they love to talk about we did when they were young.
__________________
Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: Nov 15 2013 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mackfam wrote:
** My big kids enjoy coordinating some of the liturgical celebrations with our littles now that they're older. They read the picture book. They set up the craft. They coordinate the liturgical hymn/music time. Maybe your girls would be willing to do a monthly liturgical year co-op with some of the younger families in the area? Then they could be on the receiving end of all of that wonder a young child brings to a feast day!
|
|
|
This is my experience too, and I love it! (I admit to not feeling wistful at all  ) and my big kids bring more depth and ideas than I ever did.
Last St Nicholas day they organised a play and one of my big boys dressed as St Nick and handed out the candy canes and coins, the kids loved it.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Feast days with big kids!
