My question is whether Sylvie has any particular suggestions for introducing Advent traditions to younger children (specifically thinking about my four-year-old grandson here).
All the activities I propose in the book would be great for families with children as well, and can be mutual blessings for the accompanying adult and child alike. It also focuses on Jesus, his "garden", and our neighbors, instead of our own desires, which is great for a child to see and for us to model! I talk more about this in the chapter on children in my first book. It goes back to Deuteronomy 11:18-19: “talk about the Lord with your children when you walk by the way and sit in your house, etc.”
This book sounds amazing! I love learning about old Catholic traditions. I would ask Sylvie whether incorporating several different traditions (from different cultures) would be too confusing for young children or not. Also, is the Advent season still common observance in France and other places she has traveled? I would love to experience a place where everybody knows it's still Advent and not Christmas yet!
I like to think that any tradition that can be woven onto the story of “Christ here with us” is fair-game! As long as the child understands that Christ is history, and the rest is imaginative story, like a parable, to help us earth Christ with us, and in us. For instance, “growing or bringing greenery indoors,” practiced in various ways by many cultures, is a symbol of the life of Christ always with us... It probably was originally appropriated from the early Celts by Christians. But it works!
It could also be a wonderful opportunity to introduce your child to the wide diversity of peoples around the world who also celebrate Christmas, yet sometimes differently. Fun!
And yes, France and England in particular (and others too) have Advent practices that are precious to them, and slows down the season, especially in smaller towns and villages. And I miss that!
This looks like a beautiful book. I see the term Placemakers in the table of contents. I am curious to know how Sylvie has practiced placemaking in Advent.
God gave us a place at the beginning, to care for, and in which to flourish.
Placemaking is part of our mission, and it happens when
1. We actively care for our land to honor our creator, whether we grow food, bring some food to our Advent parties that recall our local place, eat less when the land is quieter, or even by having real dishes for our party foods rather than disposables: all of these make our place a better place.
2. We flourish in it when placemaking happens in our communities, our towns, our neighborhoods, our places of work, and of course our churches. Could you step back and see your place as a crèche scene, a little scene of holiness in which you have a role to play for who is Christ is at the center? Can you see your gift in your scene as one that contributes to placemaking for Christ?
Perhaps we make place happen when we join HIS mission in our everyday places.
I'm so excited for this! Sylvie is lovely! My question is what helps, which santons or practices help pull you back into Advent when life & stress push them away.
Thanks, Mairi! For the practices, read above answers.
As far the santons, I’d say probably the shepherds, because they know how to be watchful and I like to think that is why they end up seeing the angels (this is not in the Bible, just in my imagination! Still, there is something important there for each of us).
Yet on the whole, the santons in general help me pull back into Advent because they engage in the great pilgrimage and come with simple gifts, and that is enough to keep them in the story! I find that comforting
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment, Sylvie. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it to the second book club chat - my niece was staying with my husband and me. I looked after her (as a nanny) for the first 4 years of her life, so our time together is very special. I love what you say about the shepherds, that’s really thought-provoking.
What are your favorite advent traditions that were unexpected? As a mother, I have found so much joy in the traditions my own children created themselves, or the things that they do together and then later inform me “it’s our tradition!” even when they’ve only done it once. 😂
Perhaps the most unexpected was when I was struck (out of nowhere) with the idea that I did not need to deck my manger with plants from Provence but simply with my own local plants...And funny enough, my children helped me see it this way, by including their giraffes and elephants! (that’s in the conversation)
My question is how do you suggest learning about the native plants when you're new to an area? I'm also a Midwest transplant, and even after four years I still feel like I don't know what grows in this area, unless it also grows in my home state of Texas.
If you live near a botanical garden, investigate it. All of them, these days, lean into conservation, etc. Some offer classes, or opportunities to volunteer – and they’ll train you. Same with forest preserves, etc.
Also, Use the free App called SEEK. You take the picture, and it will identify the plant (or bird, insect, etc.), and tell you whether it’s native or introduced, endangered, etc.
This book is a wonderful resource: The Midwestern Native Garden, Ohio University Press.
I'm excited to hear more about the santons. I'm going to a santon workshop in Marseille in October and was planning to buy a full creche (if it's not too expensive), and it will be nice to have some basic knowledge beforehand.
Very neat! I would ask about traveling during Advent and how to make traditions that are often building in a certain place/home work when we are usually away from home by the last week of Advent through most of Christmas Christmastide. I often feel caught between leaving them feeling unfinished or rushing to fit them into an even more abbreviated Advent.
I have addressed this in the talk. But just relax and remember the season does not end yet! Do what really matters first, and leave the rest to complete later, or invite your hosts into it...
I'd love to know her top tips for entering into the work of sacred imagination that she seems to do in her book amidst the busyness of the Advent season!
It probably starts with daring to be counter-cultural (don’t need to do like everyone else), although it would help not to be alone is that. Also, as I said earlier, get organized and do the busy work well ahead of Advent. Then breathe and enjoy the quiet Advent activities, some of which I propose in my books. People may even want to join you! :)
What are your feelings on “la petit mort” in relation to Advent ? What is something that studying about advent helped you understand life or come to terms with something about yourself?
I don’t have any feelings about the former. (I had not heard of it before...)
But as for the rest, when I started thinking of Advent, I realized that “searching”, or “waiting” for Christ to come is not just something you do at Advent, but you do all the time. It probably explains some of our deepest longings. I used the image of pregnancy in our talk: waiting for life to come, anticipating the joyfulness, but also seeing that THIS moment, this waiting also occasions a deep-seated joy and contentment, because it brings you back to the fact that there is life already now, “down under,” even if not quite yet visible.
What a wonderful book and focus. I'd like to ask Sylvie how to find ways to incorporate mini pieces of her book into life with two full time jobs and parenting elementary children. Thank you!
Congrats, Morgan - you're the winner of Sylvie's gorgeous book!! :) If you can please send me a DM or email (hearthstonefables [at] gmail.com) when you have time, that would be lovely.
Also, SUCH a great question about weaving these things into such a full season of life...my ears are perked to hear the answer to that one, too!
See my general comments above about making time, and also about Deuteronomy 11:18-19. This Bible passage in fact reminds us that people have always been busy, but God gives us this idea about how to deal with it, through our daily lives. (Yet, there are times when we may have to admit that we – and even our children – are simply overcommitted....).
Both! It may depend on your season in life, but I think this is fun with a group, where you might share ideas and activities. There is also something very precious about doing it quietly on your own.
Hello Kristen. I am excited to read this book. I would like to ask Sylvie if she incorporates the O Antiphons into her Advent prayers. I am always looking for ways to highlight them besides singing o Come O Come Emmanuel and praying them.
Good question! Same as traditions above, any prayer that points us to Christ (and this truly awesome event of his coming to us in such a way) can be used to help us see him and welcome him. O Antiphons is no exception, and I like how it goes back to the names of the promised Messiah, as given by Isaiah. It is very rich. Go with it!
How lovely! I would ask about living into advent in America- where Christmas chaos seems to start earlier and earlier- without just isolating for 2 months?
Oh wow, this sounds like a beautiful book and resource to learn from.
My question is this: having been born and raised in America, and being from a family that doesn’t carry any particular traditions from their ethnic heritage past, would it be okay, respectful even, to pick up traditions from other cultures that I love and respect and make them my own? I’d love to pass down traditions to my children, but I don’t have many.
I don't see why not. We have sometimes invented some new ones :)! The traditions that carry the great story of God's saving grace in Jesus and help us and our children celebrate it are so important! And they link us together through our shared memories over the years.
My question is whether Sylvie has any particular suggestions for introducing Advent traditions to younger children (specifically thinking about my four-year-old grandson here).
All the activities I propose in the book would be great for families with children as well, and can be mutual blessings for the accompanying adult and child alike. It also focuses on Jesus, his "garden", and our neighbors, instead of our own desires, which is great for a child to see and for us to model! I talk more about this in the chapter on children in my first book. It goes back to Deuteronomy 11:18-19: “talk about the Lord with your children when you walk by the way and sit in your house, etc.”
I have her book of Living the Liturgical Year … this new book will be a wonderful way to prepare for Christmas the highlight and wonder of Advent!!
Thanks for sharing it♥️♥️
Sylvie's books are such treasures! I'll look forward to joining you in pondering her new Advent book this coming season!
This book sounds amazing! I love learning about old Catholic traditions. I would ask Sylvie whether incorporating several different traditions (from different cultures) would be too confusing for young children or not. Also, is the Advent season still common observance in France and other places she has traveled? I would love to experience a place where everybody knows it's still Advent and not Christmas yet!
I like to think that any tradition that can be woven onto the story of “Christ here with us” is fair-game! As long as the child understands that Christ is history, and the rest is imaginative story, like a parable, to help us earth Christ with us, and in us. For instance, “growing or bringing greenery indoors,” practiced in various ways by many cultures, is a symbol of the life of Christ always with us... It probably was originally appropriated from the early Celts by Christians. But it works!
It could also be a wonderful opportunity to introduce your child to the wide diversity of peoples around the world who also celebrate Christmas, yet sometimes differently. Fun!
And yes, France and England in particular (and others too) have Advent practices that are precious to them, and slows down the season, especially in smaller towns and villages. And I miss that!
This looks like a beautiful book. I see the term Placemakers in the table of contents. I am curious to know how Sylvie has practiced placemaking in Advent.
God gave us a place at the beginning, to care for, and in which to flourish.
Placemaking is part of our mission, and it happens when
1. We actively care for our land to honor our creator, whether we grow food, bring some food to our Advent parties that recall our local place, eat less when the land is quieter, or even by having real dishes for our party foods rather than disposables: all of these make our place a better place.
2. We flourish in it when placemaking happens in our communities, our towns, our neighborhoods, our places of work, and of course our churches. Could you step back and see your place as a crèche scene, a little scene of holiness in which you have a role to play for who is Christ is at the center? Can you see your gift in your scene as one that contributes to placemaking for Christ?
Perhaps we make place happen when we join HIS mission in our everyday places.
I'm so excited for this! Sylvie is lovely! My question is what helps, which santons or practices help pull you back into Advent when life & stress push them away.
Thanks, Mairi! For the practices, read above answers.
As far the santons, I’d say probably the shepherds, because they know how to be watchful and I like to think that is why they end up seeing the angels (this is not in the Bible, just in my imagination! Still, there is something important there for each of us).
Yet on the whole, the santons in general help me pull back into Advent because they engage in the great pilgrimage and come with simple gifts, and that is enough to keep them in the story! I find that comforting
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment, Sylvie. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it to the second book club chat - my niece was staying with my husband and me. I looked after her (as a nanny) for the first 4 years of her life, so our time together is very special. I love what you say about the shepherds, that’s really thought-provoking.
What are your favorite advent traditions that were unexpected? As a mother, I have found so much joy in the traditions my own children created themselves, or the things that they do together and then later inform me “it’s our tradition!” even when they’ve only done it once. 😂
Perhaps the most unexpected was when I was struck (out of nowhere) with the idea that I did not need to deck my manger with plants from Provence but simply with my own local plants...And funny enough, my children helped me see it this way, by including their giraffes and elephants! (that’s in the conversation)
YES! Children are great at that!
My question is how do you suggest learning about the native plants when you're new to an area? I'm also a Midwest transplant, and even after four years I still feel like I don't know what grows in this area, unless it also grows in my home state of Texas.
Good for you!
If you live near a botanical garden, investigate it. All of them, these days, lean into conservation, etc. Some offer classes, or opportunities to volunteer – and they’ll train you. Same with forest preserves, etc.
Also, Use the free App called SEEK. You take the picture, and it will identify the plant (or bird, insect, etc.), and tell you whether it’s native or introduced, endangered, etc.
This book is a wonderful resource: The Midwestern Native Garden, Ohio University Press.
Hope this helps!
Amazing! Thank you!
I'm excited to hear more about the santons. I'm going to a santon workshop in Marseille in October and was planning to buy a full creche (if it's not too expensive), and it will be nice to have some basic knowledge beforehand.
Very neat! I would ask about traveling during Advent and how to make traditions that are often building in a certain place/home work when we are usually away from home by the last week of Advent through most of Christmas Christmastide. I often feel caught between leaving them feeling unfinished or rushing to fit them into an even more abbreviated Advent.
I have addressed this in the talk. But just relax and remember the season does not end yet! Do what really matters first, and leave the rest to complete later, or invite your hosts into it...
I'd love to know her top tips for entering into the work of sacred imagination that she seems to do in her book amidst the busyness of the Advent season!
It probably starts with daring to be counter-cultural (don’t need to do like everyone else), although it would help not to be alone is that. Also, as I said earlier, get organized and do the busy work well ahead of Advent. Then breathe and enjoy the quiet Advent activities, some of which I propose in my books. People may even want to join you! :)
What are your feelings on “la petit mort” in relation to Advent ? What is something that studying about advent helped you understand life or come to terms with something about yourself?
I don’t have any feelings about the former. (I had not heard of it before...)
But as for the rest, when I started thinking of Advent, I realized that “searching”, or “waiting” for Christ to come is not just something you do at Advent, but you do all the time. It probably explains some of our deepest longings. I used the image of pregnancy in our talk: waiting for life to come, anticipating the joyfulness, but also seeing that THIS moment, this waiting also occasions a deep-seated joy and contentment, because it brings you back to the fact that there is life already now, “down under,” even if not quite yet visible.
What a wonderful book and focus. I'd like to ask Sylvie how to find ways to incorporate mini pieces of her book into life with two full time jobs and parenting elementary children. Thank you!
Congrats, Morgan - you're the winner of Sylvie's gorgeous book!! :) If you can please send me a DM or email (hearthstonefables [at] gmail.com) when you have time, that would be lovely.
Also, SUCH a great question about weaving these things into such a full season of life...my ears are perked to hear the answer to that one, too!
See my general comments above about making time, and also about Deuteronomy 11:18-19. This Bible passage in fact reminds us that people have always been busy, but God gives us this idea about how to deal with it, through our daily lives. (Yet, there are times when we may have to admit that we – and even our children – are simply overcommitted....).
Hope this helps!
My question is whether this is more of an individual study or would it be great for a group? Thank you!
Both! It may depend on your season in life, but I think this is fun with a group, where you might share ideas and activities. There is also something very precious about doing it quietly on your own.
Hello Kristen. I am excited to read this book. I would like to ask Sylvie if she incorporates the O Antiphons into her Advent prayers. I am always looking for ways to highlight them besides singing o Come O Come Emmanuel and praying them.
Good question! Same as traditions above, any prayer that points us to Christ (and this truly awesome event of his coming to us in such a way) can be used to help us see him and welcome him. O Antiphons is no exception, and I like how it goes back to the names of the promised Messiah, as given by Isaiah. It is very rich. Go with it!
How lovely! I would ask about living into advent in America- where Christmas chaos seems to start earlier and earlier- without just isolating for 2 months?
YES.... Read above and listen to the conversation. I am amazed at how many people feel the same about this!
Oh wow, this sounds like a beautiful book and resource to learn from.
My question is this: having been born and raised in America, and being from a family that doesn’t carry any particular traditions from their ethnic heritage past, would it be okay, respectful even, to pick up traditions from other cultures that I love and respect and make them my own? I’d love to pass down traditions to my children, but I don’t have many.
I don't see why not. We have sometimes invented some new ones :)! The traditions that carry the great story of God's saving grace in Jesus and help us and our children celebrate it are so important! And they link us together through our shared memories over the years.