Celebrating Advent with a Young Family

Our family just finished week two of Advent and begin week three today. It is surprising how fast the Season goes by when you are marking the weeks by candles. These first two weeks are something of a blur. After celebrating a second week of Advent with my young family I offer these reflections.

First, my two four-year olds, Zion and Mary, have fully bought into the daily devotion around the Advent wreath. There’s been a few nights when I have not been motivated to have the devotion before bed after a long day. But they remind us about it and insist that we do it. I’m learning that the formation of kids is as much, if not more, in the routine, the liturgy of life if you will, than it is in the actual words we use. Kids, perhaps more broadly people, are transformed not merely by words spoken, but by the shape of their lives. This is why I think celebrating the Christian year can be such a useful discipline as Webber asserted in Ancient-Future Time. The Christian year puts a person in the shape of expecting the coming of God.

Second, candles and fire are still very much the most important feature of our evening devotions around the wreath. Every night we go through the same routine. “I want to light the candles!” says one. The other begins to protest, “I want to light the candles!” Emotions in the form of whining and crying ensue as immediate support for their individual passion for the task. The beauty of week two of course is that there are two candles – one for each. So each child gets to manage one candle and the whole 5 to 10 minutes at the wreath is a then focused on the candle. There are attempts to blow it out constantly through coughing or heavy breathing. At least once I have to interrupt the reading and say don’t blow that out or you won’t be able to light it again. Once this week we had to bribe with a treat so that Zion would pay attention. Whatever it takes!

Third, one of the favorite moments in the devotion over the last two weeks has been the singing carols and songs. We’ve song Joy to the World, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angles Sing, and Silent Night. One night the devotion was on the Cross so we sang the hymn The Old Rugged Cross. Actually this is my kids favorite bedtime song. We sang it every night strait for 3 months strait this summer/fall. I think we’ll record it sometime and I’ll put it up on the blog. Its a real beauty!

Fourth, we continue to say the ancient hymn, “O Gracious Light”, every night too. They are beginning to be able to say it without repeating after me. They remember the lines. Hopefully by the end of Advent they’ll have learned it by heart. I have also taught them the sign of the Cross when we say the line “O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. I taught them the Orthodox direction “right to left”. My colleague at NPU Brad Nassif is an Orthodox Evangelical and taught me this.