Family Feasts
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:36 PM
When I checked my email this morning, I got a happy surprise - several messages wishing our son a happy feast day. We commemorate St. Blaise today - his feast is pretty well-known because of the common blessing of throats - and several friends had thought of our boy. I was touched.
I gave my own Blaise a hug and told him it was his patron’s feast, which meant little to him, since he’s two. Concepts such as patrons and feasts are still beyond him. But aside from mentioning it, we didn’t celebrate the day in any other way. And I wonder if we should.
I’m not a cradle Catholic. I didn’t join the Church until I was twelve, after my dad (who had been a cradle Catholic) had returned to the faith of his childhood. My mom is still not Catholic. And while we attended Mass faithfully, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, and did our best to live up to the teachings of the Church, we didn’t know or practice a lot of the household traditions common among Catholics.
It wasn’t until I attended a Catholic college that I learned about the myriad little things various families chose to do. Like having a crucifix in every room or praying the Angelus daily or praying for the faithful departed before meals. Or celebrating the feasts of the patron saints of family members.
I learned a lot from my cradle-Catholic college pals, but I think that having grown up without them, these things just don’t come as naturally to me. As a result, we’ve had our little household for many years, and yet we have not once done anything in particular to celebrate the feast of a family member’s patron or patroness.
Honestly, I’m not even sure where to start. Do we… sing special songs? (Where would I find such songs?) Learn about the saint in question? Bake a cake? (My kids would like that one!)
Celebrating patrons’ feasts is a household tradition that really appeals to me. I’d like to make it part of our family life while my kids are still young enough that they won’t remember a time before we did it. But I could really use some help!
So, tell me: do you celebrate patron feasts in your household? What particular activities are part of your celebrations?
Please share any ideas you have - I’d appreciate all the help I can get!
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