Liturgy Brisbane Education News
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Advent and Schools

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"...I invite you to consider these five simple ideas/accommodations for Advent and Christmas that may assist teachers and students in celebrating these seasons in way that is more authentic without being too onerous..."
Advent is a tricky business for local Catholic schools. Here in Queensland we have a wonderful tradition of 'Catholic Week'. For the uninitiated, this means breaking in the first week of December for summer holidays. This is exactly one week before state schools break and long before the southern schools let their kids out. It is also a week before the hotels and airlines roll-out their Christmas price lists! It is a much-loved tradition. The issue for Catholic teachers is that Advent begins in the week before break-up and it is very difficult to celebrate the season authentically. 

The reality is teachers are very, very tired at this time of year. Sometimes, Advent and Christmas are rolled into one homogeneous season, with Christmas craft activities becoming much-needed stress-relievers for worn out kids and teachers.

Teachers may skip Advent altogether in order to get to the important teaching content around the nativity. Not only is this much more interesting for kids (it is in all the shopping centers and splashed across television) but teachers also fear that this is the only opportunity for some kids to explore the spiritual dimension of the Christmas season. Many children will not have an opportunity to attend liturgy after school finishes.  

While this is not best practice, in my experience teachers do their very best in often challenging circumstances. It is very, very important that we carry no judgement. If this is what needs to happen, wonderful! We say, 'thank you for celebrating this important season with your students!' 

I invite you to consider these five simple ideas/accommodations for Advent and Christmas that may assist teachers and students in celebrating these seasons in way that is more authentic without being too onerous:
  • Start the Advent Season earlier. This is breaking the rules, but students would then get a sense of the authenticity of both the Season of Advent and the Christmas Season. An artificial Advent can line up well with examination time in secondary schools. 
  • Be intentional. While food drives, blanket collections etc are very important, WHY we do these things are more so. Contextualise these actions within a Liturgy of the Word, or an Advent Liturgy of the Hours (see We Pray As One).
  • Try a reverse Advent Calendar. Traditional Advent calendars have small doors that are opened each day of Advent,  containing lollies or small trinkets leading up to Christmas. In a reverse Advent calendar, actions are added to each day of the calendar. For each day of Advent, students can focus on a small action that prepares them for the coming of Jesus. For example, 'saying sorry'. 'telling a parent that they are loved', 'thanking someone for being with us on the journey of the year' etc. 
  • Read...just a little bit. Great teaching starts with our own great formation. Elizabeth Harrington has written nearly 40 Liturgy Lines columns that mention Advent. These are pithy, well-researched, insightful columns that can be consumed in less than five minutes. Check out the list here.
  • When it comes to teaching the Nativity, start with Scripture. The Contemporary English Version is used in the Children's Lectionary. Remember that there are two (yes, two!) different Christmas stories (Matthew and Luke). They are distinct stories (the holy family head to Egypt in one story and Bethlehem in the other). Starting with Scripture allows students to 'decode' the nativity that is retold in other ways (for example, most of the Christmas barnyard animals do not appear in Matthew or Luke's account).

James Robinson is the Education Officer for Liturgy Brisbane. 
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  • The Gift of Christian Hope
  • Archive
    • 2025 Jubilee Year
    • Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying
    • Liturgy Committees
    • Liturgy and Community
    • RCIA - The Power of Accompaniment
    • Liturgy with Children and Teens
    • Liturgical Music - Some Considerations
    • A Co_Responsible Church
    • Blessings
    • Christ with us in the Eucharist
    • Celebrating Advent
    • Sacramental Preparation
    • Mystery and Mission
    • Conversion, Healing, Penance
    • Desiderio Desideravi
    • In Search of Peace
    • Word of God Sunday
    • Living Lent >
      • Forty Lenten Ideas
      • Lent is a time to grow in the faith
      • Walking the Stations of the Cross this Lent
    • Saints and Souls >
      • Saintly Endeavours
      • Let the Dead Have November
      • Why We Pray for the Faithful Departed
    • Lay Liturgical Ministry >
      • Talents for Ministry
      • Nine Steps to Becoming a Better Lector
      • Ministers of Communion​
    • Music Matters >
      • Repertoire and Renewal
      • Liturgical Song and Evangelisation ​
      • 5 tips for effective music ministry
    • 50 Days of Easter >
      • Celebrating Easter's 50 Days
      • Aspects of the Ascension
      • Reflections for Pentecost Sunday
    • Saint Joseph >
      • Patris corde (With a Father's Heart)
      • Celebrating St Joseph in the Liturgy
      • St Joseph in Scripture
    • Christmas 2020 >
      • On the Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene
      • Botticelli - The Mystical Nativity
      • The Season of Christmas
    • Planning for Christmas 2020 >
      • Planning Christmas Masses 2020
      • Re-emerging With Purpose
      • Beyond Welcome: Show, Don't Tell
    • Signs and Symbols >
      • Sacramental Signs and Symbols
      • The cross reminds us of the sacrifices of the Christian life
      • Signs & Symbols: A Reflection
    • Looking Forward >
      • Solemnities on Saturdays
      • Our Family at Mass in the Age of Technology
      • Is your RCIA open all year-round? - Embracing 'Pyjama Catechesis'
    • Eucharist as Living Memory >
      • Memory is not Something Private
      • So what's wrong with a Virtual Mass?
      • The Middle of Nowhere
    • What have we learned from lockdown? >
      • Church After Coronavirus - New Understandings of Social MIssion
      • Virus and Vocation
      • Real Presence and Virtual Liturgies
    • Celebrating Holy Week in COVID times​ >
      • Coronavirus and the Eucharist
      • How to celebrate the liturgy when there is no Mass
      • Holy Week At Home
    • Solidarity and Unity >
      • Taking Communion to those who Self-Isolate
      • Peace and Solidarity
      • United to Christ We Are Never Alone
    • Preparing for Lent >
      • The Weeks of Lent in the Australian Imagination
      • How to Prepare for Lent
      • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Lent
    • Liturgy with Children >
      • Using the Lectionary for Masses with Children
      • Praying Morning Prayer with Primary School Children
      • Directory for Masses with Children
    • Praying For Rain >
      • National Drought Prayer Campaign
      • Praying for Rain - Prayer Resources
      • A Ritual of Lament
    • Christian Initiation >
      • CATECHUMENATE - Rolling Year Round
      • Inculturating Christian Life in the Digital World
      • Tweens and Teens in the RCIA
    • Season of Creation >
      • Season of Creation September 1 - October 4
      • The Cosmic Song of 'Laudato Si'
    • Ordinary Time >
      • The Season of Ordinary Time
      • Sunday - The Original Feast
      • Luke's Gospel
    • Saints and Feasts >
      • Mary and the Saints
      • Saints and Martyrs
      • Who Are the Saints?
    • Eucharist >
      • The Centrality of the Eucharist
      • Space Matters
      • Can you drink the cup?
    • Altar Servers
    • Ministers of the Word
    • Children's Liturgy of the Word on Sundays
    • Advent Issues >
      • Advent Resources >
        • Advent
        • Music in Advent
        • Advent BOB
      • The Season of Advent
    • Liturgy Preparation
    • Communion
    • A pastoral map to baptism
    • The Role of the Deacon
    • Music Ministry
    • Reconciliation
    • Women Deacons, Music Choices and Lent
    • Data Projectors
    • The Christmas Season >
      • The Book of Blessings
      • Formation in Liturgy
    • The Year of Youth
    • Should we celebrate Australia Day?
    • Marriage
    • Easter Triduum
    • ANZAC Day
    • Funerals
    • The problem of translation
    • Advent resources for families
  • Subscribe