Advent and Schools

"...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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