Hello! As someone who lives in a small apartment in the Nation's Capital, I can attest that this city does not live on any natural or liturgical cycle, but only a (man-made) political one. Living a liturgical cycle is an intentional choice to live more authentically and eternally, not thinkiing of short-term gains or power plays. Any advice for city dwellers? PS I inherited my mom's presepio (we're italian!) and I love nothing more than recreating the nativity scene from my childhood, building the village, the landscape, the stable, and placing all the little people in their special spots.
Hello Sylvie (and Kristin), I live in Brisbane, Australia, which is a sub-tropical environment. Our natural seasons are the opposite of so much of the world and not as distinguished as yours may be. I love the liturgical calendar but so many traditions have emerged from the Northern Hemisphere. Do you have any tips for integrating old ways, while also finding our own new ways for living liturgically in a way that makes sense ‘down’ here?
Hello fellow Australian! I live in Wodonga. This is something that Kristin and I have been pondering on and discussing for some time and we brainstorm ideas about the way that the Southern Hemisphere can use what she does with her liturgical/community/family groups. I am about to really start being serious about doing something similar but it will take research and time. I would love your input.
Hey Catherine, so great to connect! We lived in Vancouver, Canada for 2 years (over 12 years ago now) and that was really where I fell in love with the liturgical year alongside the four glorious seasons - cherry blossoms in spring around Easter were such a delight. And the colours of autumn/fall were wonderful too. I was really determined upon coming home to find ways to celebrate in a meaningful (to us) way. I’ve always struggled with fake snow on windows here at Christmas, that kind of thing feels disingenuous. But so much literature comes from Europe and North America and so little seems to be southern centred. Would love to chat some more about this with you. Perhaps tapping into Indigenous knowledge and understanding of the seasons may help? For example I know some First Nations people groups talk about 6 seasons here. But Australia is so vast so there is some sense that we always need to adapt things for our particularities. Lots to say. Lots of ideas and Jen to hear more from you. Maybe I should take this conversation to an email?
Hello back to you! Talking about Autumn, we are enjoying those fresh colours right now in Wodonga and region, and the crisp mornings. I also do not do fake snow or even the other clearly Northern Hemisphere decorations as it seems utterly wrong, so I sympathise entirely. I have never heard of the 6 seasons idea but that is something I would be interested in learning. Learning how to do this liturgically and in our natural seasons is going to take a great deal of reading and time but we can do it together. My email is cate.nunan@gmail.com Yay!
Oh I love how this connects to the crèche so much! I would love to ask Sylvie what kind of nativity displays she did with her kids when they were small, this is something near and dear to my heart as well 🩷
Melody, you're the lucky winner of this book!! Thank you so much for being here and for your wonderful question. When you have a chance, please DM me or email me (hearthstonefables [at] gmail.com) and we can connect to mail your book out! :)
I’m so excited for this! My question for the author: what is your favorite season, and why? Does your favorite season coincide with your favorite liturgical season?
I love this book idea — I think about this concept all the time! What are some ways that you pick up the discipline of celebration during celebration seasons (Christmastide, Eastertide)? How do you sustain celebration in-season?
Hello! My question for Sylvie is how to best integrate liturgical activities into the long stretch of ordinary time? Would this be a time for preparation and renewal? If so, how do we instantiate that in our own lives liturgically?
Your words, and musings bring memories to mind of my faith/filled life in Italy… how I miss it. I am married to an Australian and live in a small town in the Adelaide hills. With my nine children I still implement our traditions as we journey through the liturgical year… though somewhat differently… I look forward to reading your book♥️
Thank you Kristin, I’m so delighted when hearthstonefables comes into my inbox, you brighten my day!God bless you
Dear Annamaria, thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing such a thoughtful note! I'm just tickled pink to know that the arrival of these little missives bring you some joy. :) Thank you for being here with us all!
One of the aspects of liturgical living that I've been paying close attention to is the need for resources that reflect the experience of our Southern Hemisphere friends. There's a little conversation happening in the comments thread of this post with a couple of lovely Australian residents (Catherine Nunan and Sharolyn) - you may want to take a peek, as it may resonate with you!
I would love to know if she wrote the book in-sync or out of sync with the seasons as the year passed? How did that influence her writing?
Hello! As someone who lives in a small apartment in the Nation's Capital, I can attest that this city does not live on any natural or liturgical cycle, but only a (man-made) political one. Living a liturgical cycle is an intentional choice to live more authentically and eternally, not thinkiing of short-term gains or power plays. Any advice for city dwellers? PS I inherited my mom's presepio (we're italian!) and I love nothing more than recreating the nativity scene from my childhood, building the village, the landscape, the stable, and placing all the little people in their special spots.
Hello Sylvie (and Kristin), I live in Brisbane, Australia, which is a sub-tropical environment. Our natural seasons are the opposite of so much of the world and not as distinguished as yours may be. I love the liturgical calendar but so many traditions have emerged from the Northern Hemisphere. Do you have any tips for integrating old ways, while also finding our own new ways for living liturgically in a way that makes sense ‘down’ here?
Hello fellow Australian! I live in Wodonga. This is something that Kristin and I have been pondering on and discussing for some time and we brainstorm ideas about the way that the Southern Hemisphere can use what she does with her liturgical/community/family groups. I am about to really start being serious about doing something similar but it will take research and time. I would love your input.
Hey Catherine, so great to connect! We lived in Vancouver, Canada for 2 years (over 12 years ago now) and that was really where I fell in love with the liturgical year alongside the four glorious seasons - cherry blossoms in spring around Easter were such a delight. And the colours of autumn/fall were wonderful too. I was really determined upon coming home to find ways to celebrate in a meaningful (to us) way. I’ve always struggled with fake snow on windows here at Christmas, that kind of thing feels disingenuous. But so much literature comes from Europe and North America and so little seems to be southern centred. Would love to chat some more about this with you. Perhaps tapping into Indigenous knowledge and understanding of the seasons may help? For example I know some First Nations people groups talk about 6 seasons here. But Australia is so vast so there is some sense that we always need to adapt things for our particularities. Lots to say. Lots of ideas and Jen to hear more from you. Maybe I should take this conversation to an email?
Hello back to you! Talking about Autumn, we are enjoying those fresh colours right now in Wodonga and region, and the crisp mornings. I also do not do fake snow or even the other clearly Northern Hemisphere decorations as it seems utterly wrong, so I sympathise entirely. I have never heard of the 6 seasons idea but that is something I would be interested in learning. Learning how to do this liturgically and in our natural seasons is going to take a great deal of reading and time but we can do it together. My email is cate.nunan@gmail.com Yay!
What season excites you the most; either liturgical or natural? Are they the same?
Who inspires you the most in your art.
Oh I love how this connects to the crèche so much! I would love to ask Sylvie what kind of nativity displays she did with her kids when they were small, this is something near and dear to my heart as well 🩷
I love this!! A question for the author: how did you choose the different santons for each chapter?
Melody, you're the lucky winner of this book!! Thank you so much for being here and for your wonderful question. When you have a chance, please DM me or email me (hearthstonefables [at] gmail.com) and we can connect to mail your book out! :)
Ahhhh YAY!!! I am so excited for this book! Thank you so so so much for creating such a beautiful space for this community! I’ll DM you!! :D
Thank you for helping to make this community so beautiful!
What is your favorite family liturgical tradition?
I’m so excited for this! My question for the author: what is your favorite season, and why? Does your favorite season coincide with your favorite liturgical season?
I love this book idea — I think about this concept all the time! What are some ways that you pick up the discipline of celebration during celebration seasons (Christmastide, Eastertide)? How do you sustain celebration in-season?
That book looks absolutely wonderful! Here's my question: Where do you begin with seasonal living?
What made you initially interested in seasonal living and how long have you done so?
My question for Sylvie: florally, where is/has been your favorite place to live through the seasons?
Also, do you mean Saturday the 24th? You have the 23rd down, so wanted to make sure 😛
Yikes!! Thanks for catching that, Mairi!! It’s on Friday the 23rd. I’ll update the post.
Hello! My question for Sylvie is how to best integrate liturgical activities into the long stretch of ordinary time? Would this be a time for preparation and renewal? If so, how do we instantiate that in our own lives liturgically?
Hello Kristin & Sylvie,
Your words, and musings bring memories to mind of my faith/filled life in Italy… how I miss it. I am married to an Australian and live in a small town in the Adelaide hills. With my nine children I still implement our traditions as we journey through the liturgical year… though somewhat differently… I look forward to reading your book♥️
Thank you Kristin, I’m so delighted when hearthstonefables comes into my inbox, you brighten my day!God bless you
Dear Annamaria, thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing such a thoughtful note! I'm just tickled pink to know that the arrival of these little missives bring you some joy. :) Thank you for being here with us all!
One of the aspects of liturgical living that I've been paying close attention to is the need for resources that reflect the experience of our Southern Hemisphere friends. There's a little conversation happening in the comments thread of this post with a couple of lovely Australian residents (Catherine Nunan and Sharolyn) - you may want to take a peek, as it may resonate with you!