Family Feast Day Fun: Lent Edition I
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.
This may seem like a long one, but just remember to do the ones you like best/are the most helpful for the family unit.
*What season? Lent *Home altar color? Violet
Lent starts on March 5 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 time, 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:
March 4- 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.
March 5- Ash Wednesday: This is a day of required fasting (2 snacks and 1 meal max) AND abstaining from meat. The kids LOVE getting their ashes since they aren’t old enough for Communion yet, so this is one they can receive. Go to mass!
March 17- St. Patrick: The patron of Ireland (though English by birth), he was a crucial presence when it came to Ireland turning from their pagan ways. Shamrock crafts, for how he taught the trinity, are a great activity for the day. Corned beef and cabbage and green desserts are also fun for the menu.
March 19- St. Joseph: St. Joseph, being the holy spouse of Our Lady and foster father of Our Lord, gets a SOLEMNITY for his day. Meaning it is a day of obligatory celebration! A super fun tradition is from Italy, who at some point in history adopted dear St. Joseph as their patron, began the tradition of pouring their pasta noodles directly on the table and eating with their hands. We add parmesan cheese or breadcrumbs as “sawdust” for his carpentry and enjoy whatever other Italian treats we can.
March 30- Laetare Sunday: Throughout Lent our liturgical color is purple, and we like to wear purple to Sunday masses. But the 4th Sunday is designated “Laetare” for “rejoice”. It is getting closer to Holy Week, and the catechumens preparing to enter the Church on Easter vigil receive special blessings this day. So on Laetare Sunday, “we wear pink”. 😉
Remember, at home it is YOUR Domestic Church. Customize for YOUR family. Check back for Holy Week traditions later in Lent!
Feel free to email me for specific tradition questions, Lindsay @ aldridge0222@gmail.com.
We are the Domestic Church!
Written by Lindsay Aldridge