Church Year Resources

 A collection of links from around the web, organized by season and occasion, to help you celebrate the church year.

General
   -"Seasons of the Church Year," an article by Dennis Bratcher.
   -Lent & Beyond - a great site that regularly posts scriptures and prayers for the season.

Advent
   -"24 Days Before Christmas," a list of activities for each day of Advent.
   -"The Advent that Almost Wasn't," an article on celebrating Advent in stressful years, by Kerry.
   -"Advent's Coming: Keep It Simple!"
   -"Experiments in Advent," by Carolyn Thomas.
   -"Law And Fire" - an Advent meditation

Christmas
   -A Las Posadas activity - good for a group of children
   -"The Party Has Just Begun" - a quick intro to the 12 Days of Christmas
   -"Christmas Traditions Without Kids" - because you don't have to be a parent in order to celebrate the season.

Epiphany
   -"Hurrah for Three Kings Day," a review of the children's book.
   -"Interview with Anna Moseley Gissing," on celebrating Epiphany
   -"What Is Epiphany and How Do I Celebrate It?"
   -"How To Throw an Epiphany Party in Four Easy Steps"

Lent
   -"Simon of Cyrene" - a Lenten meditation
   -"Spring Cleaning," a labor-intensive Lenten tradition.
   -"On Lent," a guest blog by Dr. Betsy Barber.
   -"Lenten meditation", on choosing a topic of mediation for the season.
   -"Regular Season vs. Playoffs," on staying strong all the way through Lent.
   -Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids (I love this one!)
   -"Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for Lent"
   -"A Definition of Lent"
   -"Lenten Rookie Mistakes," an article by Simcha Fisher.
   -"What Is Lent?"a short, helpful video from Fr. Matt Kennedy.
   -"Lent for a Forgetful Person," helpful ideas for celebrating with kids
   -"Marked by Ashes"
   -"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust," a short meditation, with some helpful links at the end.
   -"Interview with Cate MacDonald," on celebrating Lent.
   -"Lenten Calendar & Plan": resources including recipes & crafts.
   -"What Is Lent and How Do You Celebrate It?"

Holy Week
   -"Between Cross and Resurrection in Narnia," a meditation on Holy Saturday, by Dr. Fred Sanders.
   -"15 Ways to Observe Holy Week with Your Family," an annotated list by Barbara Curtis.
   -How to observe a child-friendly Stations of the Cross, from Kerry.
   -on fasting from electricity during Holy Week, from Ann.
   -"Passover and Pascha," on celebrating the traditional Jewish holidays
   -"Interview with Jennifer Snell," on celebrating Holy Week.

Easter
   -"Book Review: What is Easter?" review of a great resource for young children.
   -St. John Chrysostom's rightly famous Easter Homily.

Pentecost
   -"Ideas for Celebrating Pentecost" - a great list of resources for families.
   -How to throw a birthday party for the church! from the Liturgical Year for Littles Ones

Ordinary Time
   -"Ordinary Time"
   -"Trinity Sunday" - a great list of resources for celebrating this feast.

Other Feasts & Fasts
   -"Presentation of Our Lord" - or, Candlemas!
   -"Celebrating the Church Year: the Presentation of Jesus (February 2)"
   -"Jesus Christ Victor," on Christ the King Sunday.
   -ideas for celebrating Christ the King Sunday.
   -Pro-Life ways to celebrate the Annunciation

Saints' Days
   -"On Saints' Days"
   January:
  -"The Conversion of St. Paul"
   February:
   -"Making St. Brigid's Crosses" - a how-to on this craft.
   March:
   -"The Feast of St. Joseph"
   -"Gregory the Great"
   -"St. David's Day" (patron saint of Wales)
   May:
   -"St. Mary's Day for Children," a few ideas.
   October:
   -the Feast of Edward the Confessor
   November:
   -"Not Afraid of the Dead": a meditation for All Saints' Day, by Dr. John Mark Reynolds.
   -"For All the Saints": another meditation for All Saints', this one by Susanne Dietze.
   -A quick recipe for soul-cakes, for All Souls Day.
   December:
   -"Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus Songs" - a humorous take on seasonal songs.
   -The St. Nicholas Center
   -"The Three Big December Feasts (that aren't Christmas)" - on St. Stephen's Day, St. John's Day, and the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

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