Liturgical Living at Home for Families: February Edition (Ordinary Time I and Lent)
Feast day and liturgical season traditions help our kiddos understand the Faith in their everyday space in their everyday life. The symbols and colors of the Church during each liturgical season can be brought home in many ways. Foods, activities, crafts, the options are vast.
*What season are we in? Ordinary Time, then Lent *What color for home altar? Green, then violet
Lent starts on February 18 this year:
Sacrifice Beans- Instituting Sacrifice Beans has been the single best thing we started doing for Lent. Put dry beans in a bowl and an empty jar next to it. Anytime a kid offers a sacrifice or does a good deed, they get to put a bean in the jar. They will transform at Easter, so stay tuned!
Around the House– Kids can still give up and/or add activities for Lent, don’t underestimate them. Here’s some ideas! It has helped us to type/write everyone’s goals together and post it on the fridge.
When we decorate for Lent, we also “undecorate”. I take away any florals, and we collect bare sticks to put on the door and on our home altar; you will also notice no flowers on the altar at church throughout this season.
This is also a fantastic season to learn about the Works of Mercy at the dinner table, and maybe put a few into action throughout Lent. Another fun thing at the dinner table is the Lent song.
Upcoming feast days:
Feb. 1- St. Brigid: She was known as the Bride of Ireland. She has a special cross that can easily be turned into a kid craft using straw or pipe cleaners. Fun foods with traditional meanings on this day include oat soda bread, and making a St. Brigid’s cross!
Feb. 2- Presentation of the Lord: In Jewish tradition, a baby boy was to be presented at the temple 40 days after he was born to be dedicated to God, so Candlemas is 40 days after Christmas morning. Christ is the light of the world, and so we have our candles (light) blessed for the coming year.
Feb. 14- St. Valentine: Use commercialism to our advantage for this one…this is a true Catholic feast day celebrating a Catholic Saint! St. Valentine was a priest who would help soldiers get married when they were wrongly forbidden from doing so. He is the patron of happy marriages! I like to include “St.” on any valentines we give out to help spread the word. “Love is patient, love is kind. Happy feast of Saint Valentine!” For extra fun, have the kids play restaurant and serve Mom & Dad for dinner!
Feb. 17- Mardis Gras (Fat Tuesday): Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” and refers to enjoying extra delicious foods before beginning a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In the south it is often celebrated with King Cake topped with the colors of purple, yellow, and green from the New Orleans tradition. Another tradition is pancakes, and yet another is all the meat you can eat before fasting the next day (aka Carnival). When we sit down at dinner, we will also decide on all of our Lenten commitments together.
Feb. 18- Ash Wednesday: This is a day of required fasting (2 snacks and 1 meal) AND abstaining from meat (meatless Fridays are yearround but are non-substitutable during Lent). Kids LOVE getting ashes since many aren’t old enough for Communion yet, so this is one they can receive. Go to mass!
Feel free to email me for help with anything, Lindsay @ aldridge0222@gmail.com.
We are the Domestic Church!