Advent

We always make a point of celebrating Advent as distinct from Christmas. So we won’t be putting up a tree or any decorations till Christmas Eve. In the meantime, we have a Jesse tree, an advent wreath and (re-used) advent calendars for the kids.

So at prayer time each evening, we have a reading about a character from the Old Testament, and his (or her) emblem is hung on the Jesse tree while we sing O Come O Come Emmanuel. We follow that with the collect from the appropriate Sunday Mass (Extraordinary Form: wonderful prayers) and our usual prayers around the wreath. then the kids open the window in their advent calendar.