Preparing for Christmas throughout the World

Reverse Quiz This quiz is about Advent. These are the answers what are the questions! Four Purple You open a window on it each day You make it using an orange The third one is always coloured pink Has the figures of Mary, Joseph and some times shepherds in

Lets explore further Around the world people have different customs to celebrate Advent . In England we often use an Advent wreath.

Why is it round? Because a circle represents God’s love for us which is never ending Why do we use evergreen leaves? Evergreen leaves remind us of eternity, that our life with god is forever it goes on beyond death and they are also a sign of hope. Why does it have candles Because candles always remind us of Jesus who is the light of the world. As we go through Advent the light gets brighter as we light more candles

Why are there 4 candles? They represent the 4 Sundays of Advent Why are 3 purple and one pink? Because in the church purple is the colour of preparation and advent is a time when we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus into our world. The priest wears purple vestments at mass in Advent. In the past Advent was also a time when people fasted to prepare for Christmas on the third Sunday the candle is pink to remind us of the joy that Christmas will bring

The Crib Most people when drawing a Christmas Crib would draw something like this: It was St Francis of Assisi who first came up with the idea of a Crib

St Francis of Assisi In the year 1223 Francis celebrated Christmas in a way that the world had never before seen. Francis had just returned from Rome where he had met the Pope who had approved the guidelines he had drawn up for those people who wished to follow Francis’ way of life. It was just a few weeks before Christmas

Now you need to remember that Francis had been born wealthy but given it all up when he decided to follow Jesus more closely. Francis knew that most people did not have lots of money, in fact many of the people who came to listen to Francis were poor and found it hard at times to make ends meet. Francis wanted to show them that Jesus came to help them and knew what it was to be poor. Then Francis had an idea. He would help people understand what it was like when Jesus was born

Francis contacted his friend, Giovanni Velita. Giovanni like Francis had been born rich and just opposite the town of Greccio, which stood on a rocky hill, Giovanni owned a high mountain with lots of caves inside Together they found a suitable cave and put in it a manger full of hay and brought an ox and a donkey and some sheep to the cave.

On Christmas Francis asked the people of the town to come to the cave On Christmas Francis asked the people of the town to come to the cave. They came carrying torches because it was dark There in the cave lit by torchlight Francis told the people the story of Jesus’ birth. They had heard the story before but this time in the light of the cave they really understood it. They knew that God chose to be born poor, amid the animals to show that God came to help all those who had nothing, those who last in the eyes of the world came first with God They realised to that to follow Jesus they also had to help the poor.

Customs from France: Santons The word Santon comes from the French and means small saint After St Francis throughout most of Europe people made large cribs using real animals and people but in France there was a revolution and after this people were forbidden from celebrating midnight mass on Christmas Eve and from making their large crib

Some of the Christians in France then decided that if they couldn’t celebrate together in Church they would make their own cribs made of any materials they could find This was a really dangerous thing to do because the authorities didn’t want anyone to have anything to do with the church and they were risking their lives. When they made the crib figures they used any material they could find and they made figures to represent themselves and the people around them

The figures start off away from the crib and move them towards the crib as advent goes along The cribs always change and look different each year.

An Italian tradition Bambinelli Sunday

On the third Sunday of Advent children from Rome bring to St On the third Sunday of Advent children from Rome bring to St. Peter’s Square the figurine of the Christ Child from their families’ Nativity sets.  Then, the Pope blesses the statues of Baby Jesus which the children will take back to homes to be placed under their Christmas trees. (they do not go in the crib until Christmas day itself)

This is the prayer the Pope used to bless the figures God our Father, you loved us so much you sent us your only Son, Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, to save us and lead us back to you. We pray that, with your blessing, these images of Jesus might be a sign of your presence and love in our homes. Good Father, give your blessing to all who gather with us this Christmas, family and friends. Open our hearts, that we might receive Jesus in joy, do always what he asks of us and see him in those who need our love. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your beloved Son, who came to give peace to the world. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.