Advent
Advent is dark yet each tiny spark lightens the way to Christmas Day.
The Christian festival of Advent with its universal messages of preparation and renewal starts on the Sunday closest to 30th November, which this year falls on Sunday 1st of December. Many of us love to celebrate Advent with calendars which hide sweet treats or feature beautiful pictures, like the many enchanting calendars to choose from at Conscious Craft.
In our family when my children were little, opening Advent calendars was associated with mornings, they would eagerly jump out of bed to discover what was hiding inside. This was a lovely tradition but the thrill of opening the little windows often seems short-lived, leaving them with a sense of wanting more. In order to balance the excitement of the morning tradition I felt there needed to be a bedtime ritual which balanced the morning mood of eager anticipation with an evening mood of reverence and peace, also important and meaningful themes during Advent time. In a modern world where so much arrives instantly, cultivating a healthy sense of anticipation can help us to joyfully look forward but also help us to consciously and patiently root ourselves in the present.
Creating devotional spaces and simple ritual can be deeply nourishing for children and adults alike. The book All Year Round, offers many inspiring suggestions for creating moments of reverence and delight for children at this time of year. In fact, there can be so many different ways to celebrate a Waldorf-inspired Advent that parents can sometimes feel overwhelmed by choice. I remember in my early Waldorf parenting journey struggling to simplify and often feeling exhausted, not only by the usual demands of caring for small children but by putting an unnecessary pressure on myself; I would end up crafting into the wee small hours to create figures and items for elaborate and time-consuming season tables. Dear parents, I wish I could have heard back then, “you don’t have to do it all!” Over the years, I’ve reflected that what I really want at this time of year is to feel in balance and to stay connected to my children, who would much rather have my loving presence than my well intentioned overwhelm or sense of stress.
“The course of winter festivals seems to take us on a journey away from the moribund earth to another reality which is filled with starlight and angel voices, with wonder and with hope,” All Year Round, by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton & Marije Rowling
Creating a simple Advent season table inspired by Mary’s star path and the Star Ladder from All Year Round
Creating a season table can be a lovely surprise for young children and form an Advent bedtime ritual, to gently bring the day to a close together before heading off to bed. You could prepare by setting up the table the night before the first Sunday of Advent when children are in bed, however if this is going to cause unnecessary stress waiting for little ones to settle then you can also set up the scene during day time. Children will naturally be intrigued and you may wish to keep the element of surprise by answering their questions of “what are you doing?” with “I wonder?” Or you may wish to invite them to help - follow whatever feels right for your family.
A rich dark blue cloth becomes the background for the season table and a blue ribbon with as many gold sticker stars as there are days in Advent (this year 24 stars) is secured in place, (I knot the ribbon and a corner of the cloth together). At the bottom of the ribbon is a tiny cradle made from a walnut shell in which lies a little baby made from wool roving, representing the divine potential in all of us.
The cradle is surrounded by little crystals and shells, evergreen sprigs and tiny flowers. At the top of the ribbon an angel waits ready to travel down from heaven to earth to greet the baby. This is a nourishing image for young children and helps to give them an age-appropriate picture of the passing of time, answering their longing and question of “when is it Christmas?”.
A beeswax tealight in its glass holder sits to the side of the walnut shell cradle and each night with the lights dimmed the family takes it in turn to light the candle on the season table. We liked to use a taper which was lit from our meal table candle and carried to the season table. The Dipam pure beeswax Tea Lights, made in the Netherlands by a traditional candle maker, are a natural alternative to paraffin and stearin candles. The candles burn clean, purify the air and have a subtle honey scent, adding a wonderful comforting sense of warmth to this experience.
A short simple verse can then be said together, our favourite was
Advent is dark ,
yet each tiny spark,
Lightens the way to Christmas Day.
Once the taper is safely blown out, a star is removed from the ribbon and placed on the blue cloth behind, then the angel glides down (with the help of an adult and a bobby pin discreetly pushed through the wool at the back of the angel) to take the star’s place on the ribbon. Slowly as the ritual is repeated each evening until Christmas Eve, the heavens fill with stars which twinkle in the candle light as little ones then make their way to bed. On Christmas morning the baby and angel have been magically crowned in the night time with golden halos.
Materials:
Bobby pin hair grip
Walnut shell half
A collection of small shells and crystals
Small evergreen branches and tiny flowers.
Blue satin ribbon
Gold star stickers
Taper
To make the angel, take a section of white wool roving about 10m long and divide it into three sections by gently pulling it apart. Tie a knot in the middle of one section pulling it tight, this will form the face. Spread one half of the wool around the back of the knot to become the hair and secure with a wisp of wool to form the neck.
Now you have created the head divide the wool under the knot in half and lay the two remaining skeins of wool inside. Pull them upwards snugly under the neck and secure with a wisp of wool in the same way as the neck to form the waist of the angel. Now fan out the wings behind and start to form the arms, gently pull the fleece to shorten the length if needed and then tie the arms together to create the appearance of the angel’s folded hands. A golden wool halo can be made by wrapping a thin skein of yellow roving around your thumb to crown the angel.
To make the baby in the cradle take a thin skein of roving about 5cm long and knot it in the same way as the angel and form a head. The body can then be shaped by wrapping wool around to form the appearance of swaddling using a wisp of wool to secure in place. Then create a little halo in the same way for the baby’s head.
As we journey through the darkest time of the year the simple act of lighting a candle in the darkness each night can provide an opportunity to pause and reflect, as week-by-week a gradual and growing sense of illumination connects us to the growing light of the natural world around us, as we approach the winter solstice and the renewing inner light of peace and goodwill which seeks to be born in us all on Christmas Day.
However you choose to celebrate Advent, be guided by your loving intention and what you create, however simple, can become a memory of connection, presence and anticipation you and your children share together.
Wishing you a gentle and peaceful Advent time.
Katherine from @appletree_community
Photo credit Katie @pocketofforest
