Tomorrow we celebrate how Joseph and Mary fulfilled the law by taking Jesus to the temple with an offering. This blog has two wonderful posts (Thank you, Ma!) on this feast which talk about it in depth as well as offer fun ideas for enjoying this special day with our little ones. Since I'm not one to reinvent the wheel, I'm just going to talk about a couple things (born out of those ideas) I'm doing with my little ones (4 &1) this year.
This year my four-year-old is participating in a wonderful program at our Church called the Catechisis of the Good Shepherd. He has already been reintroduced to the story and has been allowed to "act it out" with models. The thing he focused on was the gift of two turtledoves given by Mary and Joseph. He was told that the gift would actually go to the priests for food. As we were talking about the Feast on the way home from Church he decided we should bring a gift to our priests just like Mary and Joseph did. He also wants to bring a gift to his Catechists (teachers), because "they work at the church too."
I thought it was a wonderful idea to bring a gift that the priests could eat/use, not only does it show them our appreciation, but it allows us to offer something back to God in a very tangible way.
My son wants to get a clock for the church (I wonder if he thinks it will help the priest keep his homily short? j/k). My idea- dove shaped cookies.
Another thing we will do is to take candles to church for the service to celebrate the Light "to enlighten the gentiles!" We have the battery operated ones, but in the next few years we will graduate to real candles. At our church the priests bless the candles during the service. And just like Ma's posts suggest, we will decorate them! :)
I wish you all a blessed feast!
Showing posts with label Presentation of the Lord. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presentation of the Lord. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, February 1, 2010
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
On February 2 the Church celebrates Christ's presentation in the Temple. In the Western Church it goes by the name of Candlemas and was traditionally the day to take Christmas decorations down. But I don't know much about the Western traditions other than that.
In the East, this feast commemorates Jesus' first visit to the temple (Luke 2:22-39) 40 days after his birth. It was custom to offer a lamb for sacrifice or two doves (if one was too poor for a lamb). Joseph and Mary brought to doves (they were poor) and Jesus--the Lamb of God. St. Simeon and St. Anna, both of whom were very old were there to witness Christ's entrance. The former's prayer (Lord now lettest thy servant depart in peace according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to enlighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.) is still a staple prayer in the Eastern Church being said at the end of every Vespers and when leaving the Nave.
In our home, we read this story and talk about how special it is to be able to go to church. We also read My Forty Day Blessing Book by Christina Kyriacou which talks about the blessing infants and their mothers receive when they are churched. We look at pictures of my childrens' churchings and talk about how special it is to be welcomed into our church family in this way.
We also bring a special offering to the church-whether it be money or decorations. I always read the kontakion as well as the scripture readings we will hear in church beforehand so that we can talk about their meanings before and after the service.
For a craft I suggest making a lamb and birds out of paper and cotton balls or other decorations. Coloring pictures of the feast's icon is also of value since it allows children to identify this story when they're looking around during church.
In the East, this feast commemorates Jesus' first visit to the temple (Luke 2:22-39) 40 days after his birth. It was custom to offer a lamb for sacrifice or two doves (if one was too poor for a lamb). Joseph and Mary brought to doves (they were poor) and Jesus--the Lamb of God. St. Simeon and St. Anna, both of whom were very old were there to witness Christ's entrance. The former's prayer (Lord now lettest thy servant depart in peace according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to enlighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.) is still a staple prayer in the Eastern Church being said at the end of every Vespers and when leaving the Nave.
In our home, we read this story and talk about how special it is to be able to go to church. We also read My Forty Day Blessing Book by Christina Kyriacou which talks about the blessing infants and their mothers receive when they are churched. We look at pictures of my childrens' churchings and talk about how special it is to be welcomed into our church family in this way.
We also bring a special offering to the church-whether it be money or decorations. I always read the kontakion as well as the scripture readings we will hear in church beforehand so that we can talk about their meanings before and after the service.
For a craft I suggest making a lamb and birds out of paper and cotton balls or other decorations. Coloring pictures of the feast's icon is also of value since it allows children to identify this story when they're looking around during church.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Presentation of the Lord, February 2nd
As recorded in the gospel of Luke 2:22-40, this feast celebrates Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus into the temple 40 days after his birth as required by mosaic law. At this time, Jesus is beheld by Simeon who was promised by God not to die until he saw the Messiah and upon seeing Christ, he cried, "My eyes have seen your salvation, now let your servant depart in peace".
Readings: Hebrews 7:7-17 and Luke 2:22-40.
For the Little Ones: In the west, this feast is referred to as the Candlemas (for in "about 450 AD in Jerusalem, people began the custom of holding lighted candles during the Divine Liturgy of this feast day" see here). For Christ is He who will bring light to the Gentiles and is the glory of his people Israel. It is traditional in many parts of Europe to feast on crepes on this day.
An ideal craft for this feast would be to make candles. Dependent on how little your kids are, this may or may not be feasible. However, tea cup candles are very easy to make and little ones can help with various aspects of it (securing the wick, picking out the cups at a thrift store). Best of all, these are great gifts to give to the neighbors and you can tie a little note to the handle with the hymn of St. Simeon on it.
Readings: Hebrews 7:7-17 and Luke 2:22-40.
For the Little Ones: In the west, this feast is referred to as the Candlemas (for in "about 450 AD in Jerusalem, people began the custom of holding lighted candles during the Divine Liturgy of this feast day" see here). For Christ is He who will bring light to the Gentiles and is the glory of his people Israel. It is traditional in many parts of Europe to feast on crepes on this day.
An ideal craft for this feast would be to make candles. Dependent on how little your kids are, this may or may not be feasible. However, tea cup candles are very easy to make and little ones can help with various aspects of it (securing the wick, picking out the cups at a thrift store). Best of all, these are great gifts to give to the neighbors and you can tie a little note to the handle with the hymn of St. Simeon on it.
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