Showing posts with label Ash Wednesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ash Wednesday. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Ash Wednesday and Our Family's Lenten Traditions
This post contains affiliate links.
It's hard to believe that Lent will be here next week with the first day of Lent starting with Ash Wednesday on March 1, 2017.
Before I explain some of our family's favorite Lenten traditions, I wanted to share about our Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday traditions.
King Cake for Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)
The day before Ash Wednesday is also known as Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras and I usually try to make our traditional King Cake and hide a plastic baby somewhere in the cake. My children like to see who will find the baby and whoever finds it has to provide the King Cake for next year's Mardi Gras. :) This King Cake tradition is also celebrated on Epiphany.
And if you don't want to make a homemade king cake or buy one at the store, you could try Mini King Cakes out of cinnamon rolls, icing and sprinkles. I'll be doing this for the first time this year!
Pancakes for Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday
For breakfast or lunch or dinner we will have pancakes, bacon, fruit. Fat Tuesday is also known as "Shrove Tuesday" and a traditional meal for Shrove Tuesday is pancakes. Why pancakes? Great question! Here's the interesting answer! Did you know one day could have so many different names? :)
So what is Shrove Tuesday all about? As stated at About Religion: "Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance."
Now onto Ash Wednesday....
What is the significance of putting ashes on one's forehead to start the Lenten season? Below is a quote from an article on About.com
King Cake for Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)
The day before Ash Wednesday is also known as Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras and I usually try to make our traditional King Cake and hide a plastic baby somewhere in the cake. My children like to see who will find the baby and whoever finds it has to provide the King Cake for next year's Mardi Gras. :) This King Cake tradition is also celebrated on Epiphany.
And if you don't want to make a homemade king cake or buy one at the store, you could try Mini King Cakes out of cinnamon rolls, icing and sprinkles. I'll be doing this for the first time this year!
For breakfast or lunch or dinner we will have pancakes, bacon, fruit. Fat Tuesday is also known as "Shrove Tuesday" and a traditional meal for Shrove Tuesday is pancakes. Why pancakes? Great question! Here's the interesting answer! Did you know one day could have so many different names? :)
So what is Shrove Tuesday all about? As stated at About Religion: "Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance."
Now onto Ash Wednesday....
What is the significance of putting ashes on one's forehead to start the Lenten season? Below is a quote from an article on About.com
A Day of Repentance:
The
distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to
repentance. In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which
those who had sinned, and who wished to be readmitted to the Church,
would begin their public penance. The ashes that we receive are a
reminder of our own sinfulness, and many Catholics leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday and Lent:
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday and Lent:
Now onto Lenten traditions our family has enjoyed through the years. I hope there is an idea that will be new to you and you will want to try it with your family....
Lenten Love Links
My Lenten Love Links idea all started with my 6 year old asking me several years ago, "When is Easter Mom?" and then I came across the 40 Acts of Lenten Love for Children from Homeschool with Love that I pinned to my Lent Pinterest board. I loved the ideas on how children (and adults) can show love in Lent for the 40 days (the Lent "count" does not include Sundays) in Lent and I wanted a way for my children to count down until Easter Sunday. So I combined the two ideas into one. Read more...
Salt Dough Crown of Thorns
Next week we will be making our annual crown of thorns out of salt dough and you can find the link for the recipe at Catholics United for the Faith (CUF).
Here is a picture I took several year's ago while my kids' hands mixed the salt dough ingredients
Each time our children and my husband and I make little or big sacrifices during Lent, we will pull out a toothpick to remove Jesus' thorns from his crown.
So many opportunities to think beyond ourselves, hence the many, many, many "thorns.
Then just before Easter, our children will paint the thorn-less crown gold and glue jewels on the crown to represent that Jesus our King has risen! The decorated crown looks lovely on the Easter table. Here is a picture of a crown we did a few years ago.
Lenten Love Links
My Lenten Love Links idea all started with my 6 year old asking me several years ago, "When is Easter Mom?" and then I came across the 40 Acts of Lenten Love for Children from Homeschool with Love that I pinned to my Lent Pinterest board. I loved the ideas on how children (and adults) can show love in Lent for the 40 days (the Lent "count" does not include Sundays) in Lent and I wanted a way for my children to count down until Easter Sunday. So I combined the two ideas into one. Read more...
Salt Dough Crown of Thorns
Next week we will be making our annual crown of thorns out of salt dough and you can find the link for the recipe at Catholics United for the Faith (CUF).
Here is a picture I took several year's ago while my kids' hands mixed the salt dough ingredients
Each time our children and my husband and I make little or big sacrifices during Lent, we will pull out a toothpick to remove Jesus' thorns from his crown.
Then just before Easter, our children will paint the thorn-less crown gold and glue jewels on the crown to represent that Jesus our King has risen! The decorated crown looks lovely on the Easter table. Here is a picture of a crown we did a few years ago.
Bean Jar
Speaking of sacrifices,
another Lenten tradition our family does is the "bean jar". We have a
bowl filled with dried kidney beans, then when a family member makes a
sacrifice, they put a bean in the jar. Then on Easter morning the
children will find that the beans that have accumulated in the jar
during Lent will be changed into colorful and yummy jelly beans! I told the kids that on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent they
could get a "2 for 1" deal on their sacrifices, meaning if they do
something on Fridays they can pull a toothpick and put a bean in the jar
vs. choosing one or the other like on the other Lenten days. :-)
A few years ago we added these beautiful printables from Catholic Icing to our crown of thorns and bean jar.
A few years ago we added these beautiful printables from Catholic Icing to our crown of thorns and bean jar.
Holy Heroes-Lenten Adventure
I
got the bean jar idea from Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure several years ago and
we decided to try it in our home during Lent. Our family loves Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure
(and Advent Adventure) and you can register your email for free to
receive weekly links all about Lent. I have learned so much along with
my children!
Family Devotional Books
Throughout Lent our family will be reading once again, A Family Journey with Jesus through Lent by Angela M. Burrin.
We really enjoy this book as it is written to promote family prayer and
the characters in each story for each day of Lent are children and
families that live in Jesus' time. Then after each story that is based
on scripture there is a "Jesus, Speak to Me" section where it is written
as if Jesus is speaking to us. This is a wonderful book that has been
great to read as a family each day during Lent!
Or we might try to read Amon's Adventure: A Family Story for Easter. We have really enjoyed the Advent versions of these family read alouds!
Stations of the Cross
Many
years ago, when my older two children were little I had them color
printable stations of the cross. I then glued them onto construction
paper and each Lent we tape them up in order on our dining room wall.
Each Friday as a family we pray through the stations of the cross with
these if we don't attend our parish's Lenten soup suppers and Stations of the Cross. I like the simplicity of these Stations of the Cross and maybe this year I can have my younger children color some to update these.
I can't remember where I got these particular coloring pages, but here are some other great printable stations of the cross that children can color from Kristen at Drawn 2B Catholic.
Several years ago, I found a simple presentation of the Stations of the Cross for kids 10 and under and this is what we use to say the stations during Lent. It was in The Word Among Us Lenten Family Edition, Lent 2006 and HERE is a link to part of the article if you would like to review it. Only subscribers to The Word Among Us can view this kid's version of Stations of the Cross in its entirety, however.
Speaking of Stations of the Cross this is one of my favorite crosses, which is a magnetic Stations of the Cross. I gave this cross as a gift to my husband's cousin who entered into
full communion with the Catholic Church with my husband on Easter 2006.
When she passed away, our family inherited this beautiful cross. I was able to track down where I bought this cross several years ago. St. Andrew's Church Supply carries them.
You can find out How We Say the Stations of the Cross at Home using the coloring photos and the magnetic cross below.
Bury the Alleluia
Another Lenten tradition we started doing just last year was to "bury the Alleluia". Last year I wrote a post on 7 Ways to bury the Alleluia at the beginning of Lent.
Make Homemade Pretzels
Some years we get around to making homemade pretzels like in the book Walter the Baker that tells some history about the pretzel also. Did you know that the pretzel can be a good reminder that we can turn to the Lord in prayer and is an especially popular food during Lent? It's a fun book to read and the pretzels are easy and fun to do!
Meatless Meals
I'm always on the look out for meatless dishes during Lent and this Seafood Spaghetti dish is easy and delicious. You can find the recipe at my blog post from the archives.
On Ash Wednesday and during all Fridays during Lent, Catholics abstain from eating meat as a form of fasting and penance. For more information about the history of Lent, I would encourage you to read What are the origins of Lent? Did the Church always have this time before Easter?
Brittany also has a great summary of Lenten practices at What Can I Eat During Lent? (Complete Lent Fasting Rules Made Easy). Although Brittany has not entered into full communion with the Catholic Church (yet :) ), I'm in awe of the amount of research and time she has invested to blog about various teachings of the Catholic Church. May God continue to bless Brittany's journey of continually seeking Truth and understanding!
In the article I learned something new when it stated, "The word Lent itself is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words lencten, meaning "Spring," and lenctentid, which literally means not only "Springtide" but also was the word for "March," the month in which the majority of Lent falls."
Be sure to visit my A Slice of Liturgical Life page for more of my Lent posts from the archives, as well as browse other liturgical seasons and feast days that our family has celebrated in the past.
This post is linked to the CWBN Blog Hop with #HowWeLent theme! Be sure to visit how other readers are spending their Lent this year.
This post is also linked to New Evangelists Monthly - March 2017, Issue #51
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Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday: 2016
Today our family celebrated Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras (which is French for "Fat Tuesday) which is "the last hurrah before the Catholic season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday."
To celebrate we didn't make masks like last year or even have pancakes and bacon that is a traditional meal for this last day of feasting before the Lenten fast. We did go out to eat with my parents for dinner at Chick-Fil-A tonight savoring the chicken meal before abstaining from meat tomorrow on Ash Wednesday and each Friday in Lent.
As in years past, I did make our traditional King Cake and brought it to our Catholic co-op so all the kids could enjoy the sweet treat!
One of our students at co-op found the hidden Baby Jesus in her piece of cake which traditionally means she will be blessed and I've also heard that the baby finder makes the King Cake next year. :)
(To hide the plastic baby I pushed it underneath the cake after it came out of the oven.)
We will go to Ash Wednesday service as a family which marks the first day of Lent.
Here is a great video by Fr. Mike Schmitz about what Ash Wednesday is really all about:
I really enjoyed this post How to Explain Your Ashes: 3 Methods that gives simple ways to teach yourself and others about what that "dirt" is about all over your forehead. :)
Need any ideas to make your Lent this year meaningful? Be sure to read 25 Simple Offerings to Make this Lent a Time of Growing Closer to Christ. I really enjoyed looking over this list!
As in years past we will spend part of Ash Wednesday making our salt dough crown of thorns and as our family makes sacrifices we will pull out a toothpick. Then at Easter the crown will be painted gold and jewels will be glued to represent our King of Kings!
I will also set up our sacrifice bean jar where each time a sacrifice is made we put a bean in the jar and then on Easter the beans turn into sweet jellybeans! I printed out the Crown of Thorns Printable from Catholic Icing to add to our crown of thorns and bean jar traditions.
After we make our salt dough crown of thorns, we will "bury" the ALLELUIA since we won't be singing "Alleluia" again until Easter. Last year we started this tradition for the first time and here are some pictures from last year's "burial".
For a complete list of our Lenten traditions that we have done in the past you can visit my 7 Quick Takes post that explains all of them.
I'll conclude this post with this fun 2 minute video that creatively explains Ash Wednesday and Lent:
I really enjoyed this post How to Explain Your Ashes: 3 Methods that gives simple ways to teach yourself and others about what that "dirt" is about all over your forehead. :)
Need any ideas to make your Lent this year meaningful? Be sure to read 25 Simple Offerings to Make this Lent a Time of Growing Closer to Christ. I really enjoyed looking over this list!
As in years past we will spend part of Ash Wednesday making our salt dough crown of thorns and as our family makes sacrifices we will pull out a toothpick. Then at Easter the crown will be painted gold and jewels will be glued to represent our King of Kings!
I will also set up our sacrifice bean jar where each time a sacrifice is made we put a bean in the jar and then on Easter the beans turn into sweet jellybeans! I printed out the Crown of Thorns Printable from Catholic Icing to add to our crown of thorns and bean jar traditions.
After we make our salt dough crown of thorns, we will "bury" the ALLELUIA since we won't be singing "Alleluia" again until Easter. Last year we started this tradition for the first time and here are some pictures from last year's "burial".
For a complete list of our Lenten traditions that we have done in the past you can visit my 7 Quick Takes post that explains all of them.
I'll conclude this post with this fun 2 minute video that creatively explains Ash Wednesday and Lent:
Have a blessed Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday 2015
In this post HERE I blogged about our 2015 plans for Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. I wasn't able to do all the "plans" because today was a bit hectic, as most days!
Last night on Fat Tuesday we had a little Mardi Gras celebration with dear friends and for dinner we had pancakes, bacon and fruit. Then for dessert we had a (fat) homemade King Cake for Fat Tuesday.
Here's some pictures of our little celebration and our feast before the Lenten fast.
My oldest Cupcake found the baby in a piece of the King Cake, which supposedly means that she will have to make the King Cake for next Mardi Gras! This is the same King Cake we made to celebrate the Epiphany in January.
We made our salt dough crown of thorns that I blogged about HERE with the easy recipe and got our bean jar ready for more opportunities to make sacrifices. I printed out the Crown of Thorns Printable from Catholic Icing to add to our crown of thorns and bean jar traditions.
One tradition that I would like to start at the beginning of Lent is the burying of the Alleluia and I like Nicole's ideas at Children of the Church of the wooden ALLELUIA letters in the box. And Catholic Icing has this post about burying the Alleluia. Maybe I'll start this tradition tomorrow!?! Better late than never right? :)
Tonight my husband and I sat down to read from The Magnificat Lenten Companion together. These short devotions are doable and I hope we can read from it each day together.
I have to share this photo that my 10 year old daughter took in the car with my husband's iPhone on Ash Wednesday evening. This sunset was captured on their way to basketball practice. My husband texted this beauty to me and all I could say was WOW!
May you have many "WOW!" moments as you embark on your Lenten journey!
I'm linking this post to 40 Days of Seeking Him Link-Up
Have a blessed Lent!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday: 2015 Plans
Today our family will celebrate Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras (which is French for "Fat Tuesday) which is "the last hurrah before the Catholic season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday."
We are going to share Mardi Gras with some dear friends and for dinner we will serve pancakes, bacon, fruit and the yummy king cake dessert. (Maybe this year my son will find the Baby Jesus in the cake AGAIN!) Fat Tuesday is also known as "Shrove Tuesday" and a traditional meal for Shrove Tuesday is pancakes. Why pancakes? Great question! Here's the interesting answer! Did you know one day could have so many different names? :)
So what is Shrove Tuesday all about? As stated at About Religion: "Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance."
IF I can get my act together it will be fun to print out some of these masks as suggested by Kendra at Catholic All Year.
Our guests and our family will enjoy the delicious dinner and dessert before fasting tomorrow on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent.
A Day of Repentance:
The
distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to
repentance. In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which
those who had sinned, and who wished to be readmitted to the Church,
would begin their public penance. The ashes that we receive are a
reminder of our own sinfulness, and many Catholics leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday:
Our family will attend an Ash Wednesday Mass to help us remember that, like the Advent season, Lent is also a time of preparation and a call to conversion. It's funny to have people tell me that I have "dirt" on my forehead after we attend Ash Wednesday Mass. When this is said to me, it gives me a great opportunity to share my faith.
Jennifer at Catholic Inspired has this great Ash Wednesday Printable Activity Page that I hope to do with my own children.
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday:
Our family will attend an Ash Wednesday Mass to help us remember that, like the Advent season, Lent is also a time of preparation and a call to conversion. It's funny to have people tell me that I have "dirt" on my forehead after we attend Ash Wednesday Mass. When this is said to me, it gives me a great opportunity to share my faith.
Jennifer at Catholic Inspired has this great Ash Wednesday Printable Activity Page that I hope to do with my own children.
We plan on making our annual crown of thorns out of salt dough and you can find the link at Catholics United for the Faith (CUF). Click HERE to find recipe and other Lenten resources from CUF.
Here is a picture I took a few years ago while my kids' hands mixed the salt dough ingredients:
Each time our children and my husband and I make little or big sacrifices during Lent, we will pull out a toothpick to remove Jesus' thorns from his crown. I would like to add this free Lenten Sacrifice Printable from Lacy at Catholic Icing to our crown of thorns and bean jar.
So many opportunities to think beyond ourselves, hence the many, many, many "thorns" !
Then just before Easter, our children will paint the thorn-less (we hope!) crown gold and glue jewels on the crown to represent that Jesus our King has risen! The decorated crown looks lovely on the Easter table. Above is a picture of our decorated crown a few years ago.
Besides the Lenten Love Links that we did last year, this year I plan to print out this printable Lenten Calendar to help us count down the days until Easter!
If you missed my post with some more of our Lenten traditions through Holy Week/Good Friday, be sure to go HERE.
Have a blessed week!
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