"Mom, look— it's the last purple Sunday. It's almost Christmas!"
My husband made this wooden calendar to help
our children understand the liturgical year.
Each of the 52 rectangles around the perimeter
of the circle represents a Sunday of the church year.
In the center, there is a moveable arrow that indicates
the current Sunday, and the kids take turns advancing it weekly.
You'll also notice that there are four distinct colors on the
calendar. These are the liturgical colors used by the
Episcopal Church. The colors are reflected in the priests'
vestments and in the altar linens used during the cycle of
the feasts and fasts of the church year.
The colors are:
Purple— (long ago, black) a color of solemn preparation
It is used during Advent and Lent.
Green— is used for all of the ordinary Sundays of the year.
It represents growth.
Red— represents the blood of Jesus and the fire of
The Holy Spirit.
It is the color used for Palm Sunday and Pentecost
Sunday.
White— represents a time of celebration.
It's used during Christmas and Easter.
White is the color of light and purity.
In the Episcopal Church, neither Christmas nor Easter
is celebrated for just one day. On the contrary,
Easter and Christmas are joyously long seasons.
The feast of Christmas lasts for 12 days until Epiphany
(Three Kings Day) and continues on through the first
Sunday after Epiphany.
The celebration of Christmas as a season allows us to
linger and live fully into the feast of our Lord's birth.
There is no hurry to finish it up and get back to "normal"
(what ever that is!) on December 26th.
Our family relishes these days of celebration and the
slower pace they bring to our schedule. Many
extra-curricular activities are on hiatus for a bit,
and we can use this vacation time in some very nice ways:
~White candles replace the purple and pink ones on
our family Advent wreath, and the greens are freshened.
The Christ candle, added to the center, glows brightly to
remind us of Jesus, the light of the world.
~We'll finish making the Jesse Tree ornaments that we
began during Advent. These symbols will guide our Bible study
and inspire Scripture copywork selections.
~We'll continue reading our way through some of our
favorite Christmas literature, poetry, and picture books
and enjoy some new selections, too.
~We'll bake a few more cookies, go ice skating, and
sing along loudly with our favorite carols.
~We'll eat Swedish foods and light the angel chimes that
remind of us of Great-grandma.
~We'll read, and knit, and play a lot of chess and Yahtzee.
~We'll walk in the woods pondering a fresh, new year,
and think of our many, many blessings.
~We'll make a little room for our new presents,
clear out the surplus,
and bless others.
In this holy season,
remember to laugh, relax, and rejoice.
Remember to love.
Whatever you have not had time to do
in these busy pre-Christmas weeks can wait.
Do it later
or
Let. It. Go.
Christ is born. Alleluia!
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