Halloween

As I mentioned last year, I know that many Orthodox Christians do celebrate Halloween and many don't. I, personally, see nothing counter-cultural in simply abstaining from Halloween celebrations, but think that doing our best to transform our celebration of Halloween into something holy is the most Christian thing we can do. In addition to last year's suggestions, here are some activities to enjoy with your children:

Dress Up--Next to the candy, this is the most fun part of Halloween, is it not? My advice is to just avoid any dark-themed costumes like vampires, devils and the like.

Pumpkin Carving--I liked Elizabeth and Michelle's idea from last year: carve crosses into your pumpkins. For little children, let them paint the pumpkins. Sure, it's messy but a lot less risky!

Games/crafts--Apple Bobbing, blindfolded 'feely' box (great idea, Elizabeth!), pin the tail on the donkey or some other variation (pin the face on the pumpkin--everyone can be a winner with this one), make popcorn balls, etc. The Crafty Crow has a large selection of Halloween crafts to do (I particularly like the different pumpkin themed crafts).

Trick or Treating--Whether you choose to do this probably depends on your neighborhood and how 'thoroughly' your neighbors get into their decor. We avoid scary homes, but do allow our children to trick or treat. If you choose not to trick or treat, I would suggest doing a variation of an easter egg hunt in your house but hide candy bags instead. Another option would be to give each child some clues and they have to use the clues to figure out where their candy is hidden (this might be helpful in making sure candy is evenly distributed).

Feasting--Feast on caramel apples, hot apple cider, popcorn balls, and other autumn-y treats!

Prayer--Most important of all, say special prayers with your family. I suggest singing 'Christ is risen from the dead' and to say prayers for the departed and light candles for loved ones who have passed from this life.

Happy, holy Halloween!

Prayer and School

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that it is very easy to work prayer into the day. Every school day, we begin with morning prayers followed by saying a prayer before our lessons. It is a wonderful way to start the day and I really believes it helps me to be more patient than my nature otherwise tends to be.

However, not everyone has the luxury or the desire to homeschool and finding prayer time is probably much more difficult to do as a family. I was wondering if any of you have a consistent routine of morning prayers with school children and what kind of routines you have to make that possible. It would be wonderful if you could share them!

I think that prayer is so important before school because it is a reminder that learning is character forming and the disciplines of learning affect our spiritual life. Learning to be diligent and disciplined even if the desire might not be there is of great value and will serve us all well in our spiritual walks. It is important for us parents to help our children incorporate prayer into their daily lives. I know it can be difficult with how busy we can all be, but it is not only good for our individual spiritual health but our families as a whole. To be united in love for Christ is the most incredible treasure a family can have. So let's seek that treasure and hold on to it!

*Don't forget the links on the right have a variety of crafts and activities to do as a family for various feast and fasting periods. My apologies for not having any recent activities to present.

a good use of time

It was my husband's idea. And the result has been well worth the minimal effort.

On Sunday mornings, even on the mornings where we are running late, my husband writes down the scripture readings for the liturgy and brings a bible to the car. During the drive to church, he reads the passages and explains them to the children.

By the time our children get in the car for the ride home, they have heard the scripture stories 2-3 times. Once in the car. Once during the liturgy. And, nearly every Sunday, once during Sunday School (granted, this is usually the gospel story).

The result: our children often understand key parts in the homily; our children are prepared for Sunday School and return home really having learned something.

I am very thankful for my husband taking the time and effort to do this. Do try it too!

Saints Peter and Paul

Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear (1 Peter 1:17)

I was reading from the Prologue of Ohrid this morning and was struck by the homily of the fear of God on the above verse. At one point he writes:

"Will I be saved? This question should torment every one of us in the same way that the sower is tormented by the question: Will I reap the fruit of my labor in the field? The sower labors and fears every day. Let us also labor and fear "all the time of our sojourning" on earth."

As trite as it may be to say, it is very easy to have anxiety and to fear earthly things. To fear God--that is a struggle. However, it is a struggle we need to embrace and seek that we may have the same boldness as Paul one day and be able to say, "Not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20).

To celebrate the feast:

Here is a list of activities I compiled last summer for this feast.

In addition to these activities, I have a challenge for all you mothers (and fathers). We all have fears and anxieties we struggle with. I was told during a confession once that it was my duty as a mother not to pass on my fears to my children. What is the first step to doing this? Control your mouth. Do not speak of your fears in front of your children. During your prayers, seek repentance for those earthly fears and ask that the Lord replace them with the holy fear of God. This is what we want to teach our children: to fear the Lord our God.

May the Lord have mercy on us and each of us learn to be driven by the fear of God in our daily lives.

Pentecost

Pentecost is this Sunday--May 23, 2010. I can't believe the Pascal Season is already over with! If you haven't already started hyping this momentous feast, now is the time.  There are lots of great ideas in the archive of this blog which I'm trying not to overlap on.  Make sure to check them out too.

Pentecost is especially exciting for children being that it is the church's birthday and kids love birthdays! Start prepping for this feast by reading the story of Pentecost over and over again--it's helpful for children in church to hear a familiar reading, as well as important for them to know this story. Start brainstorming with your kids about ideas of gifts we can give to the church (money, flowers, candles, icon (depending on your church)) as well as gifts for the poor & others and make sure to follow through with it on Sunday. Perhaps bring a cake to coffee hour and sing "Happy Birthday" to the Church (or have your own party at home).  Reuse your Ascension puppet theater and puppets to put on a Pentecost production. There are so many fun ideas!

It's also an important time to focus on the gifts/ fruit of the Holy Spirit. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, whether at home, driving, watching TV, reading a book, point out examples of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. It is actually amazing how often you will see these values manifest in our society. As mentioned previously in this blog, especially focus on one or two and try to think of a creative gift to give your child/children based on this.

The Troparion for the feast is (tone 8):
Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit - through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, glory to Thee!

Singing the Troparion is always a helpful way to establish a church/home connection for kids.  It also provides us with important theological insights about the significance of the feast. In order to make this troparion come alive for children there are many good fishing inspired games to enjoy. For instance, you could make a "go fish" game with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (either words or pictures depicting the word) or create a game in which you use a pole or net to capture fruit of the Holy Spirit fish (little pretend fish with a word or picture on them). Be creative!  This can be lots of fun for us parents too!

May you all have a blessed feast!

Saint Brendan the Voyager

Today is Saint Brendan's Day, and I apologize for not posting this ahead of time so that you could prepare.  It's not too late to celebrate, though!

Another wonderful pre-schism western saint, Brendan the Voyager (b. 484) was a monastic in Ireland who founded many monasteries.  As his title and icon imagery suggest, he was a sailor who traveled around.  He is said to have gone in search of the Land of Paradise.  While the account of his journeys are intended to be of a symbolic and spiritual value, some have conjectured that he may have been one of the first saints to set foot in North America, some say Canada. 

Thus, in French Canadian spirit, serve up some Canadian bacon with French toast cut into simple fish shapes to symbolize simultaneously St. Brendan's ocean travels and also the Christological "ichthys" fish.  Serve breakfast for dinner!  (Or, next year, serve fishy toast for breakfast and Irish fare for dinner.)

You can also play the card game "Go fish!" and make origami boats to sail in the tub at bath time.

Talk to your children about The Water Project and make a donation.

(You can buy the beautiful Orthodox icon featured on the left above from Come And See Icons.  Below is the troparion featured on their website.)

Troparion (Tone 4)
The Divine Likeness has been perfected in thee, O holy Father Brendan, for taking up the Cross thou hast followed Christ, and by thy deeds thou hast taught us to disdain the flesh for it passes away, but to cultivate the soul for it is immortal: wherefore, O holy father, thy spirit rejoices with the Angels.

Vegan Hot Cross Buns

A great fasting-friendly recipe to allow the Orthodox to participate in the Western tradition of Hot Cross Buns:

Ingredients:

1 package yeast (or 2 1/4 tsps)

1 cup soy milk

2 tbls vegetable oil

1/4 c sugar

2 tbls applesauce

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 c currants (I like a mixture of raisins and dried cranberries)

2 tbls finely chopped candied lemon peel (or orange). This can be omitted but it is SO good.

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

3 1/3- 3 2/3 c all purpose flour

Mix yeast with 2 tbls warm water (approx 105-115 degrees). Let sit for 5 minutes or so till yeast has dissolved.

Meanwhile, warm the milk to about 105-115 degrees. Stir in vegetable oil, sugar, applesauce, salt, currants, lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cool to lukewarm and add to yeast mixture.

Add part of the flour and stir it in. Then knead in by hand the rest, only adding enough to handle the dough easily.

Place in an oiled bowl. Brush top of dough with vegetable oil. Cover and let sit in a warm place until double.

Punch the dough down and divide into 18 pieces, shaping them into balls. Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost double.

Heat in oven at 425 degrees about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool.

Decorate with a glaze of powdered sugar and lemon or orange juice into the shape of a cross.

Holy Week Clock

Here is this year's version of our Holy Week clock! I used coloring pages from online (see the links below).

Here are the coloring pages I used for the clock:

Ten Virgins Parable

Jesus Heals Peter's Mother in Law (Holy Unction)

Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet (Holy Thursday)

Good Friday

The Guards guarding Jesus' Tomb (Holy Saturday)

The Resurrection (Pascha)

Easy AND Yummy Vegan Recipes

To help guide you through the last week of Lent, here are some easy and yummy vegan recipes, courtesy of Ms. Martha Stewart:

• Pea Soup (A great choice for Palm Sunday, where it is traditional in Wales to have pea soup).
• Black Bean and Corn Stew
• Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Avocado Sauce
• Sesame Noodles
• BBQ Tofu Burgers
• Chickpea Apple Curry (simply ditch the yogurt as a topping)
• Eggplant and Tomato Pasta (omit the optional Parmesan garnish and you're good to go!)
• And, believe or not, you can make sloppy joes with lentils and the kids'll love it. Simply substitute lentils for the ground beef and you're good to go (you can find vegetarian versions of Worcestershire Sauce quite easily. If you have trouble finding some, it is quite easy to make. Use this recipe).

Annunciation of the Theotokos

March 25th (today) marks the annunciation of the Theotokos. It is a feast celebrating the Archangel Gabriel appearing to Mary, announcing that she will bear the son of God. We celebrate both God reaching out to man and Mary's response; a humble obedience we should all emulate.

This is one of the only days during Lent (along with Palm Sunday) when fish is allowed. In the western church, this feast is also referred to as "Lady Day".

Ideas to celebrate:

1. Treat your family to a feast of fish for this celebration.

2. The Liturgical color for this feast is blue; so why not dress appropriately?

3. Read the story of the annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) and have the children memorize the verse, "Be it unto me according to thy word."

4. Here is a simple handprint angel craft. You could also use finger paint for the activity instead of cutting out paper. A bit more messy, but the kids will think it's fun!

May you all have a blessed Feast of the Annunciation.