A Christmas Read Aloud Around the World

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For all things Advent and Christmas season, make your first stop this one. Here, you will find daily devotions, thoughtful essays, great ideas on traditions and books, tutorials, recipes, crafts, and a 45 minute podcast that will feed your soul and help you to take care of yourself this season. So go here first; then please enjoy all the books suggestions in this post. 

Several years ago, Colleen and I put our heads together to come up with a slightly different "school" plan for Advent. I knew the Tomie de Paola unit by heart and so did my children. Those books, dear and familiar, are still the steady foundation upon which we build our literature and learning this time of year. But that year, grief was raw in Colleen's household and our family had traveled a sad road with them. Together, we were immersed in a yearlong geography study and we thought we'd dig a little deeper into the Advent and Christmas traditions around the world, while still intentionally planning to revisit some seasonal favorites.

I've dusted those plans off, added a few fresh ideas, and plan to introduce them to the little girls who were just babies last time we did this unit study. 
 

Beautiful Books to Learn From:

We'll use these books for read-alouds and narration during this season.  I'll read a chapter or two of the Lankford book to the children at the beginning of the week, then at the end of the week, open the scene from the pop-up book and have them narrate what they see there based on what they have learned that week and note anything important the scene may be missing.

Advent Week 1: Focus on Germany, Poland

Traditions to Learn About: Advent Traditions Around the World


Links for research:
German Christmas Customs
The History of the Advent Wreath
Polish Christmas Traditions
Overview and Links to Individual Feasts in Poland

Books to Illustrate the Idea:
Silent Night
Waiting for Christmas
Waiting for Noel: An Advent Story

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
When It Snowed that Night
Who's Coming to Our House?
Country Angel Christmas
B is for Bethlehem

Fireside Tales: 
Gingerbread Friends
Gingerbread Baby
Papa's Angels
The Little Match Girl

 

Recipes to Try:

Lebkuchen

Pfeffernusse

Springerle

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Sculpey Gingerbread Men, Houses

 

By Hand With Heart: Throwing Chestnuts (a fun gift for siblings, cousins, neighbors, friends)

 

Advent Week 2: Focus on Russia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia

Traditions to Learn About: St. Nicholas Around the World


Links: St. Nicholas Center's Around the World Page
: Scandinavian Christmas Traditions
: Russian Christmastide
The Real Father Christmas
Books to Illustrate the Idea:
The Miracle of St. Nicholas
The Legend of St. Nicholas
Wonder Worker
St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
The Real St. Nicholas
The Baker's Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale
The Miraculous Child: A Christmas Folk Tale from Old Russia 
The Wild Christmas Reindeer

Feasts to Celebrate:
St. Nicholas
Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of Guadelupe

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
Donkey's Dream
The Friendly Beasts
St. Francis and the Christmas Donkey 
Lady of Guadelupe

Fireside Tales:
Miracle of 34th Street
The Polar Express
Christmas Trolls
Trouble with Trolls

The Hat

The Mitten

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Brett)

The Night before Christmas (Brett and others)

Recipes to Try:

Russian Christmas Coffee Cake   

Russian Tea Cakes

Russian Spice Tea

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Wee Wooden St. Nicholases

  

By Hand With Heart: Matroyshka Dolls (You can order blank dolls here  ....consider decoupaging them with photos of siblings or cousins or grandchildren and giving them as a family gift.)

 

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Advent Week 3: Focus on Mexico, the British Isles

Traditions to Learn About: Christmas Decorations Around the World

Links for further research:  

Mexican Christmas Traditions

The Great British Christmas

Books to Illustrate the Idea:
The Legend of the Poinsettia
The Legend of the Christmas Tree
The Night of Las Posadas
Cobweb Christmas 
The Christmas Tree 
St. Francis Celebrates Christmas 

Feasts to Celebrate:  
St. Lucy    

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:                         
This is the Star
O Holy Night: Harlem Boys' Choir
Room for a Little One 

Fireside Tales:

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree 
An Orange For Frankie 

Recipes to Try:

Mexican Orange Spice Cookies

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Mulled Cider

British Christmas Cake

 

Ornaments for Your Tree:  Victorian Ball Ornament (Search the web from some inspiring images, start with styrofoam balls, then use things already in your craft cabinets to glitz them up-fabric scraps, sequins, beads, glitter, feathers--so many possibilities.  Sophisitcation and charm are your goals.)

 

By Hand With Heart: Christmas Crackers (An easy gift for neighborhood friends or homeschool groups or a nice addition to a feast day table during Advent.)

 

Advent Week 4: Focus on the Holy Land

Traditions to Learn About: The Holy Places of the Christmas Story, Nativity Scenes from Around the World


Links for research:
St. Francis and The Christmas Creche
 
Books to Illustrate the Point:

The Legend of the Christmas Rose

The Crippled Lamb

Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers
King of the Stable
There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve 
The Christmas Bird 
The Shepherd's Christmas Story

Feasts to Celebrate:
Christmas
St. Stephen


Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
 Stephen's Feast 
Good King Wenceslaus 
Jane Ray: The Story of Christmas
A Christmas Story (Wildsmith)
The Very First Christmas 
 

Fireside Tales: 

Tomie dePaola: Jingle the Christmas Clown

The First Christmas Stocking

 A Small Miracle

Tomie dePaola: The Clown of God

Recipes to Try:

Mince Meat Pies 
Explanation: When the Crusaders came back to England, they brought with them spices from the Holy Land. These spices were added to huge pies made of meats of various kinds, minced very fine and enclosed in pastry. The pies were oblong in shape, to represent the manger. A depression was made in the top to hold a figure of the Infant Jesus, which was removed just before the pie was cut.

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Popsicle Stick Nativity Grottos (Create small grotto shapes out of popsicle sticks, glue your favorite image of the nativity in the center and decorate with stones, jewels or sequins.), Paper Stars , Pine Cone Angels

 

By Hand With Heart: Wee Wooden Holy Families (Paint or design sets of wooden holy families for little ones' stockings.)  Blank pegs available here. 

 

Christmas Week: Focus on Italy, France, Spain

Traditions to Learn About: Christmas Foods Around the World


Links for Research: 
: Tons of explanations, recipes, and further links to follow

Stories to Illustrate the Point:
 The Huron Carol 
The Legend of the Candy Cane
Merry Christmas, Strega Nona!
The Gift of the Christmas Cookie 

Feasts to Celebrate:
Mary, the Mother of God

Preparing Little Hearts:
Tomie dePaola: Mary: The Mother of Jesus
Mary Mother of Jesus 

Fireside Tales:

Christmas Cookies: Bite-Sized Holiday Lessons 

Recipes to Try: Your favorite cookies
 

Ornaments for Your Tree: beaded candy canes , salt dough cookie ornaments (Make and roll out the dough, let the kids cut them with holiday cutters, poke a small hole on the top of each with the tip of a pencil before baking.  When cooled, let the kids paint them to resemble iced and decorated cookies. Tie a ribbon through the hole and hang.)

 

By Hand With Heart: Cocoa Mix and Peppermint Marshmallows (Consider bringing these as hostess gifts when you do your holiday visiting).

 

New Year's Week: Focus on Central and South America

Traditions to Learn About: Epiphany Traditions Around the World


Links for Research:
Epiphany Traditions from World Wide Gourmet 
Twelfth Night 

Stories that Illustrate the Point:
 A Gift for the Christ Child 
Baboushka and the Three Kings 
Tomie dePaola: The Legend of Old Befana

Feasts to Celebrate:

Epiphany

Preparing Little Hearts:
We Three Kings 
 Tomie dePaola: The Story of the Three Wise Kings
 The Visit of the Wise Men 

Fireside Tales:

Max Lucado: Jacob's Gift

The Little Drummer Boy
The Last Straw 
  
Recipes to Try: Make a version of King's Cake: French, Mexican , Spanish, or New Orelans Style

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: bejeweled crowns

 

By Hand With Heart: Wee Wooden Magi (Make a sets of Wee Wooden Magi for little ones to enjoy.) Blank pegs available here. 

                                   

 

 

One Quiet Moment with God

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Here we are on the first Sunday of Advent. It is nearly New Year’s Day in the Church—the day we begin anew the liturgical year. A day for resolutions, though I suspect most of us are making to-do lists instead. Me, too. I have a December 20th goal. God willing, every important thing on the “do ahead” list will be finished that day. In our family, if it’s not finished before Dec. 21 — the day our Nicholas celebrates his birthday — it’s not going to be finished. That is the day the festivities begin.

How can I begin my Christmas celebration before the completion of Advent? How can I not? Fourteen years ago, I held that perfect baby after a perfect delivery and forevermore I knew that our celebration would begin early. We celebrate our very own Christmas miracle. Besides, have you ever tried to tell a little boy (or a big boy) to scale it down a little for his birthday because we’re still in “preparation mode?”

So, there is a huge push towards the third week of Advent, a week the Church has devoted to joy. We begin slowly in the first week, breathing deeply of peace and reminding ourselves that Christ is peace and not a grand hullabaloo of fa-la-las. Then there is the week that is traditionally dedicated to hope. On the third Sunday, the pink candle is lit. And I am grateful for the reminder of the pink candle, lest I lose sight of the fact that these anticipatory chores are supposed to be undertaken with a spirit of quiet joy. With the “to-dos” safely finished, the last week of Advent’s preparations are more likely to be interior. The frantic pace slows and we begin to look at the coming feast from the depths of our souls instead of from the frantic flashing of our digital organizing tool. At least that’s the goal.

Today is the day we begin to say the traditional St. Andrew Christmas preparatory prayer. Fifteen times a day, every day, from now until Christmas—and it becomes woven into our spirits. This prayer truly is my favorite Christmas preparation. When I first began the tradition, it was mine alone. I said it by myself, quietly, late at night. Then, we began to say it as a family. The year I was on bedrest, I got the bright idea to research where to get medals and pretty purple beads and I made everyone chaplets so that the counting would be more efficient. Some families, print little cards with the prayer on it and place them all over the house as reminders to say it; they don’t say 15 all at once. Fifteen is not a magic number; there’s no spell cast here. Instead, there is the gentle repetition of meditation, placing oneself squarely in the Gospel moment.

A beautiful, lyrical prayer, (sometimes prayed a bit hurriedly before succumbing to utter exhaustion at night) takes on a familiar, contemplative cadence as the weeks progress. We learn the prayer well and its message is begins to seep into our bones:

“Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! To hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.”

This prayer and most novena prayers allow us to state our intentions, to beg for favors, to ask God to grant our desires. But I have noticed, as I have prayed the prayer, that in the time from the beginning of the devotion until the time near the completion, the focus shifts from the desire to the rest of the prayer. Over time, with repetition, my gaze is taken from what I want or think I need (however good and holy that might be) to who He is and how He lives in me.

This prayer is especially effective because it transports us from the frantic pace of merrymaking and busy planning ahead into one present moment with God. Just one. As we say the prayer, we are there, in that one holy hour and moment, hail and blessed, with Him and His beautiful, gentle mother. We are there marveling at the indescribable softness of the curve of a newborn cheek. We are there, beginning to understand what this baby means in our lives. And we are there, on bended knee, trying to comprehend the incomprehensible sacrifice that lies ahead for this humble, holy family.

And if we are there, we prepare our hearts for Him. We leave the busy “Martha” days of preparation and sit like Mary beside the holy crib. We hold a vigil familiar and precious to every mother as we watch and wonder at every stuttering, sighing, newborn breath. And the air is sweeter than we’ve ever known. Our hearts are filled with that quiet joy and our hands — once so busy with buying and baking and wrapping — are filled with Him.

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Give this prayer a chance. And prepare for miracles. It will change you; I promise. Some years, the change is subtle and entirely interior and only God and I share the secret of what’s happened in my soul. Some years, it’s big and miraculous. One year, about five years ago or so, I told my friend Kristen that I was going to ask God to bless her family with another baby to adopt. And, I had my own petition, too: a good wife for Michael, my eldest son. Often in my household, this prayer gets said very late at night and somewhere in the fifteen sleepy repetitions things get all jumbled up. So, I frequently found myself praying a jumbled up “Please, God send Michael a good Kristen.”

 

And He did.

 

Three years ago, the weekend after Christmas, Michael married Kristin. This year, in what can only be a beautiful blessing of the Christmas novena, Kristin joins us for Advent. She has enthusiastically and graciously inspired me with vision for this endeavor. She has eagerly learned from Joy. And she’s going to bless you with her handiwork. Please download this beautiful print of the St. Andrew Christmas Prayer. Print a few and scatter them strategically to remind you to pray this prayer throughout your peaceful, hopeful, joyful Advent.

This essay is included in Comfort & Joy, and Advent and Christmas Ebook. Additionally, you will find a plethora of idea to enhance your family's celebration of the season. There are recipes, traditions, tutorials, a printable planner, beautiful printable pages like this one, and a daily devotional. Included in the bundle is a 45 minute podcast that will encourage you to fill your cup with grace before pouring into the people you love. Click here to purchase. 

Let's Say Grace, but also, Let's Grant Grace

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As Thanksgiving approaches, some people look forward with fond anticipation to a season of warmth and togetherness. They embrace the hustle and bustle, and they embrace all the friends and family who come together. Life looks like a Norman Rockwell painting from the last week in November until the first week in January. All is calm and bright.

I have never met one of those people.

Instead, most people approach the season with at least a little trepidation. This is not going to be easy. There will be difficult situations to navigate. Please read the rest here.

Comfort & Joy

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I've gathered all my Advent memories, detailed the unfolding of three decades of traditions, organized the gift lists, curated the recipes. I've passed the best of the best of my family's Advent and Christmas into the gifted hands of my first son's wife.

She made them into a beautiful book.

This volume is pretty much a Christmas-dream-come true. 

I hope you'll take it into your home, spend some quiet morning hours with, and let it bless you. Inside, you will find a short morning devotion for every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve--just a quick one page Think-Pray-Act. Then, there is an essay for further pondering, something I hope will inspire you. Sometimes, you'll find something to do with your hands or cook in your kitchen. Sometimes, I remind you to slow down and snuggle a small person. There's encouragement here, and acknowledgement that this season isn't all bon-bons and twinkle lights.

I even made a 45 minute podcast, so I can offer some tips on pouring grace for yourself. You can listen while you scrub bathrooms or bake cookies or drive to rehearsal. 

There is tangible support.

Please invite us into your celebration.

From now until November 30, the bundle--Ebook, printable Joy Journal, and podcast--are available to you for only $9. With your purchase, you can elect to be added to a closed Facebook group for further community as you prepare this season. 

I hope you'll walk with us to Christmas!

Take advantage of pre-December pricing here. 

Gathering my Thoughts

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Outside my window:  It's officially freezing. 32 degrees when I checked first thing this morning. I'm so glad I got the bulbs in when I did. 

Listening to: quiet. I need to rouse the troops, but I'm relishing silence. Yesterday, for about an hour, it was only Sarah and me at home. She said, "Mama, it's so quiet here! It's only the two introverts at home. We finally got rid of of all the outtraverts. Ah!" She had a point there. It's going to get full-to-the-brim crowded here in just a few hours.

Clothing myself in: Pjs for now, but I do plan to get dressed.

Thinking and thinking: About how grateful I am for the collaborative (though extremely intense) creative effort that has been the last two weeks. In a few hours, Kristin and I will launch an Advent ebook. I thought it couldn't be done. She thought otherwise. It's a beautiful, meaningful collection of family memories and traditions. I have long said that I keep this blog for my daughters and daughters-in-love, so that they have it and the can pick and choose from the collective memory. Kristin was determined to gather Advent up into a book. And yesterday, just as we were nearly finished, we learned that she and Michael and Lucy and the baby-to-be-born are moving three thousand miles away. We might have struggled a bit together yesterday, side by side with our computers, our memories, and the revised edition of how we thought things were going to be...

 

Talking with my children about these books:  On election day, Karoline announced that she plans to write a book about the Civil Rights Movement. She wanted to know if such a project could count as "school." I gathered a few resources for her research and told her she could devote the month to the project. I'm sure it will be awesome. Her books always are...

In my own reading: I'm currently reading Miracles, by C. S. Lewis. And I'm listening to Brene Brown's Rising Strong. I loved The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly. I like this one even more. It's uncanny how she's so definitely inside me head. It feels like she's cleaning things up and de-cluttering it, rearranging it a little to make it much more functional. Highly recommended.

 Pondering: "You're imperfect and you're wired for struggle, but you're worth of love and belonging." Brene Brown.

Carefully Cultivating Rhythm: Maybe I'm too protective of rhythm. Maybe if I were more willing to let schooling and laundry and driving kids all over slide and just throw myself into web projects, they would work. But I'd feel like a hypocrite, so I'm not going to do that. The older my kids get and the more I see the way each of them ticks, the more I believe that they all thrive when there's rhythm, when they know that the sands aren't going to shift dramatically beneath their feet at home. That way, when real life outside our home rocks them--and it does, all the time--they know I'm here and some things can be counted upon to be steady. I'm burning the candle at both ends here lately, trying to be the steady mom.

Creating By Hand: It's Nutcracker time. There is tulle and lace, lots of tulle and lace.

Learning lessons In: Praying for people and situations without telling God what to do. 

Encouraging learning in: Time management. My big kids keep getting smacked in the face by deadlines. We're all taking a hard look at what the time suckers are and trying to work on that. But, we're also looking at reasonableness. It's not reasonable to make a body work 24/7. Increasingly, our society seems to expect exactly that. Professors update on Blackboard and add to assignments on weekends. Work emails chime in inboxes at all hours of the day and night. Someone said last weekend (she might have wailed), "Why am I still sitting in this chair on a Sunday? Can't I reasonably expect at least a day off?" Yes. She can and she should. But how much of it is a problem of not using time wisely and how much is that the paradigm for work in America today assumes there should be no leisure time? Learning time management skills does mean being diligent and buckling down and avoiding distractions, but I think it also means being able to walk away from the work and recognize the value of both leisure and rest. 

Also, I sat down and talked with Ana Hahn a couple weeks ago. I very much enjoyed the conversation and it has me thinking about how much I used to love sharing more from our "schooling" here in this space. I think it might be time to revive that a bit, especially now that I'll be writing for Kristin and Lucy... You can read the conversation with Ana here. Go visit her!

Keeping house: Yesterday, I scrubbed down my wooden kitchen cabinets. They were gross. it was time. I actually like to wash woodwork because it's so rewarding to see the grime go. That room feels much cleaner now. We painted our house three years ago. I need to haul a bucket of soapy water from room to room and rub away fingerprints and smudges. And I need to put the finishing touches on an Advent ebook. And cook for Thanksgiving. And finish Nutcracker costumes. What to do? what to do?

Crafting in the kitchen: Kristin and I have been talking Thanksgiving. Mike's mother is gravely ill and she is living with his sister. They host Thanksgiving every year. While it will definitely be celebrated at his sister's house, Kristin and I are going to be the cooks this year. I haven't cooked for Thanksgiving in 24 years. (But I've wanted to for all that time.) This holiday season has the markings for being very bittersweet in several ways. There is much leaving and grieving on our horizon and we all know it. Aprons and rolling pins are good therapy.

To be fit and happy: Someone make me run. I'm better when I run. I just really need to find that particular rhythm again.

Giving thanks: For a chance to talk about Advent and prayer life two weeks ago at a local conference. It was so nice to get out and see people and hug old friends! Kristin came with me and we really enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday, I recorded that talk to offer to readers of our Advent ebook.

 

Loving the moments: When I get to watch him play, or when a friend in a faraway place watches him and sends me video and pictures and Facebook updates. Patrick played at Notre Dame last week and Theresa Thomas went to see him. Made me so happy! 

Patrick has had a remarkable and notable season. It kind of caught us by surprise. At the end of the summer, it looked like this was to be the season for hip surgery and a very long eight month recovery. Instead, he opted to play through the pain and delay the surgery. And he sure seized every opportunity to play really well! As the season begins to draw down, I'm seeing an inkling that his pain has probably been more than I thought. I know he'll finish strong. I also know that this semester will end at the UVa hospital, waiting for Paddy to come out of the operating room, just like last semester and the semester before. Those aren't the moments I love, but they are moments that come with the the l moments I love. He is strong and gifted and able and the pain comes with the territory.

I love the moments when hours of PT mean she can finally go up en pointe again (even if it's just for minute in the clinic). I love when my third seriously injured "child" texts from the Detroit airport and tells me her foot held up while she sprinted from one end to the other in order to catch her flight. But she, too, is looking at surgery when the semester ends. 

 

We take the bitter with sweet these days.

Living the Liturgy: Advent begins on Sunday. UPDATE: THE EBOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE. Click here for all the details and the limited-time low price.