tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349257421667969689.post2039053880778142095..comments2009-12-01T16:59:31.399-05:00John Nortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01252665097539551066jnorton@osv.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349257421667969689.post-84015167781479501732009-12-01T16:43:00.213-05:002009-12-01T16:43:00.213-05:00My family created a felt banner when I was young (yes felt...ala post-Vatican II) that featured many differently-shaped houses on a yarn pathway. Each day of Advent, the Star of Bethlehem progressed from house to house, each of which was labeled with a family name of a friend or relative. During the course of Advent, we prayed for all our closest people (or some that we still honored in memory) during our evening meal. Of course, the star ended up over the House of Bread on the 24th, when we enjoyed our Christmas feast before going to Midnight Mass. We also took turns opening the door on our Advent calendar. We also had a craft project to make an ornament; each of the four Sundays, another element would be added to the ornament and the final product would be hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. As a family, we also withheld Christmas decorations until the 24th. It's a special moment for me yet when the purple and pink candles go into storage to be replaced by green and red. The ribbons on the wreath hanging on the front door would likewise change color, marking the end of one season and the start of the next. Perhaps the most treasured of our domestic church traditions was the lighting of the luminaries before we headed to midnight mass. We were lighting the way for Christ to enter our home and our hearts. I've always appreciated that we never used electric lights and could all the more gasp in wonder when our row of paper-bag luminaries twinkled along the road and up to our driveway, fighting the wind yet instilling peace.SWPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155345901625257661noreply@blogger.com