Advent: Week 1

I was raised Roman Catholic so I am very used to seeing traditional Advent rings with purple and pink candles. We tried the traditional Advent rituals last year and while it was nice, it didn't resonate with either of us so we did things a little differently. It was important to me that we took the time and consideration to celebrate Advent because it slows us down, brings the season in and helps us cherish the true holiday.

The Waldorf-inspired Advent traditions are a perfect mixture of faith and spirituality along with the celebration of the natural world. I needed a bit of guidance on how to bring this concept together for a two year old and found that Waldorf Essentials helped, along with Parenting Passageway and the book "All Around the Year: Christian Calendar of Celebrations."

For Week 1 of Advent, we focus on the natural kingdom of minerals preparing for the birth of Jesus.

Week 2 does the same for the plant kingdom, followed by the animal kingdom in Week 3 and the last week is that of humans.

For us, this verse is simple and short; perfect for our family right now.

This year, I have a star of Bethlehem hanging in the dark night sky. We had a manger along with Mary and Joseph's winding path of 25 stones that I intended on using as a countdown but that didn't pan out so well this year.

We tried and are still happy with this version of the Advent season compared to the traditional ways. We have some tweaking to do but I am pleased that we are including such a special time in our holiday no matter how it seems tow work.