Worship at Home: Fall and Winter 2004
Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This has become a day for overeating and watching football; it is also the weekend involving the most travel, with family members reuniting with sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
- As a family, make a blessing box. Ask different family members to write on slips of paper things for which they are thankful. Use the box as a centerpiece on Thanksgiving Day. Pass it around and let each person pull out a slip of paper and read the blessing.
- Plan for a time of rest during the holiday. Set aside a minimum of one hour for your family to take a walk together, listen to soothing music together, or sit in silence for awhile then talk together.
- Take a family photograph. Label it "Thanksgiving 2004" and list on the back the names of the people present and one thing each person is thankful for this year.
- Pray for those who have lost family members during the last year. Light a candle of remembrance and call out the names of family members and friends who are no longer physically present.
Advent
Advent, the official beginning of the Christian Year, is always four Sundays prior to Christmas. This year, Advent will begin Sunday, November 28. Advent is a time of waiting . . . for the birth of a savior, for the celebration of Jesus' birth. Advent is also a time of preparing our homes and hearts for God's gift of Jesus.
The Advent wreath is the most visible and most appropriate symbol to use in the home. The circle symbolizes God's endless love. The greenery symbolizes God's undying love. The candles symbolize Jesus as light of the world. The four purple candles are lit one at a time on subsequent Sundays in Advent, until all four are lit. Make Advent wreaths with greenery or paper, or purchase a wreath. Place this on the table where you dine. During Advent, light the candles and pray together before eating. (Please also see "Advent Wreath Candle Lighting Meditations for Home and Church.")
Christmas & Epiphany
Christmas is celebrated on December 25. On this date we remember again the birth of Jesus. Beginning then and following through January 5 we celebrate the twelve days of Christmas. By following the story in the Gospels of Luke and of Matthew, we know the wise men did not reach Jesus until sometime after his birth. Because of this, we separate the celebration of Jesus' birth from the celebration of the coming of the wise men on Epiphany (January 6).
- Add a white candle in the center of the circle of the Advent Wreath. Light all four purple candles and the white candle beginning Christmas Day through Epiphany.
- Star gaze. We are told the Wise Men followed the star and it led them to Jesus. Pick a night to go outside and look at the stars. Talk together about what it must have been like for the Magi to find Jesus. Pray a prayer of thanks for the stars.
- Plan a "Three Kings" celebration. In some areas of the U.S., a traditional king cake is baked with a bean or a small plastic baby inserted into the cake. The person who finds the bean or baby becomes the king or queen and is in charge for the rest of the day.
- Count off the days of Christmas. During the twelve days of Christmas continue the celebration in your family by giving gifts of kindness and caring to one another.
New Year's Eve & New Year's Day
If we simply followed the stories in the media, the message about New Year's Eve would be "party hardy"; and for New Year's Day, the message would be "football frenzy." The beginning of the calendar year offers unique opportunities for families to start new habits, to support one another in individual resolutions, and to discuss hopes and dreams for the new year.
- On New Year's Eve, use the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer (UMH 607). Discuss together what the covenant might mean to each family member in the coming year.
- On New Year's Day, start a family book of memories. Appoint different family members to be scribes for upcoming events during the year. Make an assignment chart; then record memories and pictures as birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days occur.
- Prepare and eat together a "lucky meal." Different regions of the U.S. have different traditions. In my family, it was always blackeyed peas (copper pennies=good fortune). In others, it's turnip greens (green=dollars), grapes, dumplings, almond cakes. Find out what is considered good luck in your area or from your cultural background. As you eat, talk about what makes for good luck and how you can help one another discover the good luck and blessings around you during the year.
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