Family Traditions & the Church Calendar

Why should my family be interested in the church (liturgical) calendar? What difference does it make?

We are a people easily distracted. We live in a society with many and constantly varying demands on our time and energy. Change, turbulence, chaos, and busyness can often feel like they are steering us, and if we are unintentional, we often times find ourselves forgetting the things that we would claim are most important to us in the ever changing urgency of our lives.

As we read the Old Testament, it is clear God understood man’s changeability and forgetfulness and established many rituals and traditions for the Jewish people to help them remember important events and promises of God’s faithfulness: traditions that involved sight, taste, sounds, words, food, and family.

The Church calendar simply put is a tool that creates rhythms in our lives, in the seasons of our year, connecting us to the Greatest Story, to God's story, to the Gospel. Rhythms that help us remember, celebrate, and "act out" the most pivotal events and truths of our faith. Seasons emphasize in turn the many beautiful facets of our faith, ever reminding us, drawing us into, filling our senses, with the aroma of Christ.

Our family has been blessed to be part of a Christian tradition made rich by the observance of the liturgical calendar which helps us to remember the important events and doctrines of our faith. The seasons and traditions help direct our hearts and minds in reflecting and rejoicing over all that God has done and continues to do. They root us in the past so that we may more clearly see the direction of our present and future.

There are so many ways to begin to bring awareness and appreciation of these seasons into the family, even with young children. Incorporating even one or two ideas can bring rich memories that will begin to plant seeds of faith. As we have developed our family traditions for each season, we have found that our children’s joy and anticipation grows, and their memory and understanding about why we do them deepens.

I am working to put together seasonal guides to help families celebrate these seasons with a few traditions. My hope is that this would help enrich faith, family culture, and participation in the church liturgical year. I will be writing short posts and making available guides for the following as we near each season:

• Advent

• Christmas & Epiphany

• Ash Wednesday & Lent

• Holy Week & Easter

• Pentecost

• Trinity Sunday

• Allhallowtide

Guides for each season include thoughts and suggestions for:

Why it matters * What to talk about * What to do * What to read

What to listen to * What to watch * What to eat

Next in this series: An overview of the seasons of the church calendar, their themes, and their scriptural backbone.