Jan 16Liked by Sara Dietz, Kristin Haakenson, Dixie Dillon Lane
Thank you so much for Signs + Seasons! It's so wonderful to experience this community. Where have you been all my life? :). I have a piece I wrote about Candlemas last year (I seem to post about the liturgical year well after the Solemnities and Feasts take place!): https://bookofdeer.substack.com/p/snowdrop-a-flower-for-beginnings
Jan 15Liked by Sara Dietz, Kristin Haakenson, Dixie Dillon Lane
So excited to read these pieces on feast days, as I love any excuse to celebrate! I did touch on Visigothic Candlemas (or rather it’s absence) last year - was meaning to send it your way so here it is for anyone interested http://medievalistmama.com/2023/02/02/holy-mary-day/
Jan 16Liked by Sara Dietz, Kristin Haakenson, Dixie Dillon Lane
I do like to see "It's My Nameday" mentioned (I discovered it through the html copy hosted on EWTN's website, which is a pain and a half to read, but, well, free.) It's a lovely and very encouraging book - though, ironically, the logistics of actually hosting a nameday dessert party is what nearly drove me to cancel all family feast day plans forever. Dixie's post about keeping it simple is EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you for that!! I think my go-to this year will be baking a cake of kid's choice and just letting them work through some of the leftover bottle rockets that seem to multiply in between Fireworks Holidays.
I love this! Yes, the Nameday book can be a little overwhelming! I have to come at it from the perspective of “ideas” more than “prescriptions”--and keep scale in mind, too, although with two little ones at home that’s the story of my life 😂 it’s always fun to find other folks who have encountered it before!
Jan 16Liked by Sara Dietz, Kristin Haakenson, Dixie Dillon Lane
I'll be fair - it's not the book's fault! We just somehow managed to move 45+ minutes' drive away from everybody we know, and my family is still not sure about all this weird "liturgical living" stuff husband & I are into. Not to mention, yeah, we had 3 under 5 at the time...
Hooray for keeping it simple! Haha I so relate - last Candlemas I threw a party, and with all the various moods of our kids (you know those days), I was ready for it to be my last Candlemas EVER. But nearly a year later & I feel like I could handle some Candlemas bottle rockets.
Good idea on the switch to monthly issues– for your workload as well as our need for time to “digest” all the great links. Thanks for your commitment to this project!
I’ll throw in a couple of my previous posts on Candlemas & St. Brigid’s Day:
Hi Abbie! That's a fantastic question...I'm so grateful you brought it up, and that we get to be here learning alongside you - it's a journey!
Feast days are celebrations of people or events that are impactful in Christian tradition...though the word 'feast' makes it sound like we have to whip up a turkey dinner every day, it actually comes from a Latin term that means "joyous"...so, the idea is that all these feast days are opportunities & reminders to joyfully celebrate the story of our faith. And that might be as simple as just taking an extra moment to savor a cup of tea as we recall a particular saint or event in Christ's life! You can tune your celebrations to the modes that bring you joy and are actually doable in your real life.
There's something to celebrate or commemorate every day (multiple things a day, actually!), so the calendar can easily become overwhelming...but it's not meant to be a checklist, just a gentle reminder that helps to pull us back to Christ by leaning into his story through its retelling every year. I find it helpful to just focus on one or two feasts a month - sometimes that means a homemade crepe bar, and sometimes it means ordering out for pizza! Celebrating these feasts doesn't have to look a certain way. :)
The calendar varies a bit depending on the tradition (Catholic, Anglican, etc), so there's plenty of room to discover and grow in any denomination. I'm technically a Protestant, though I'm more aptly an Ecumenical Mess (term courtesy of Daniel Petty here on substack!)
Happy to chat any time...always feel free to reach out! :) Thanks again for bringing such a thoughtful question forward and for joining us here.
Yes, a feast day isn't supposed to be an obligation (although some feast days are paired with church attendance), but an opportunity. In terms of saints' days, each canonized saint has a feast day (usually the date of their death, in part because birthdates are often unknown). People with particular friendships with certain saints will often mark their feast days somehow, but nobody marks *all* of them (except the universal Church, I guess!).
Camille! This is so lovely to hear, and happy name day to your lovely Xenia!
Thank you so much for Signs + Seasons! It's so wonderful to experience this community. Where have you been all my life? :). I have a piece I wrote about Candlemas last year (I seem to post about the liturgical year well after the Solemnities and Feasts take place!): https://bookofdeer.substack.com/p/snowdrop-a-flower-for-beginnings
Oh gosh I'm SO looking forward to reading this!! Thank you for the link - and for being here sharing your beautiful thoughts with us all!
So excited to read these pieces on feast days, as I love any excuse to celebrate! I did touch on Visigothic Candlemas (or rather it’s absence) last year - was meaning to send it your way so here it is for anyone interested http://medievalistmama.com/2023/02/02/holy-mary-day/
Oooo I'm so excited to dig into this!
I'm looking forward to reading this! Thank you, Carolyn.
Super interesting read! Thank you for the subsequent rabbit hole to dive down.
I do like to see "It's My Nameday" mentioned (I discovered it through the html copy hosted on EWTN's website, which is a pain and a half to read, but, well, free.) It's a lovely and very encouraging book - though, ironically, the logistics of actually hosting a nameday dessert party is what nearly drove me to cancel all family feast day plans forever. Dixie's post about keeping it simple is EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you for that!! I think my go-to this year will be baking a cake of kid's choice and just letting them work through some of the leftover bottle rockets that seem to multiply in between Fireworks Holidays.
I'm so glad you liked my piece! I hope your cake and bottle rockets will make for lots of fun.
I love this! Yes, the Nameday book can be a little overwhelming! I have to come at it from the perspective of “ideas” more than “prescriptions”--and keep scale in mind, too, although with two little ones at home that’s the story of my life 😂 it’s always fun to find other folks who have encountered it before!
I'll be fair - it's not the book's fault! We just somehow managed to move 45+ minutes' drive away from everybody we know, and my family is still not sure about all this weird "liturgical living" stuff husband & I are into. Not to mention, yeah, we had 3 under 5 at the time...
GIRL, that’ll do it 😂
Hooray for keeping it simple! Haha I so relate - last Candlemas I threw a party, and with all the various moods of our kids (you know those days), I was ready for it to be my last Candlemas EVER. But nearly a year later & I feel like I could handle some Candlemas bottle rockets.
Good idea on the switch to monthly issues– for your workload as well as our need for time to “digest” all the great links. Thanks for your commitment to this project!
I’ll throw in a couple of my previous posts on Candlemas & St. Brigid’s Day:
https://thesuburbfarm.substack.com/p/welcome-february
https://thesuburbfarm.substack.com/p/groundhog-day-again
Thanks so much! I appreciate your responses!
Can you please explain what are feast days? It seems like there are a lot--are you actually supposed to throw a party/have a feast on each one?
Many thanks from a confused Protestant who really loves this liturgical stuff even though she’s not sure what it all means. : )
Hi Abbie! That's a fantastic question...I'm so grateful you brought it up, and that we get to be here learning alongside you - it's a journey!
Feast days are celebrations of people or events that are impactful in Christian tradition...though the word 'feast' makes it sound like we have to whip up a turkey dinner every day, it actually comes from a Latin term that means "joyous"...so, the idea is that all these feast days are opportunities & reminders to joyfully celebrate the story of our faith. And that might be as simple as just taking an extra moment to savor a cup of tea as we recall a particular saint or event in Christ's life! You can tune your celebrations to the modes that bring you joy and are actually doable in your real life.
There's something to celebrate or commemorate every day (multiple things a day, actually!), so the calendar can easily become overwhelming...but it's not meant to be a checklist, just a gentle reminder that helps to pull us back to Christ by leaning into his story through its retelling every year. I find it helpful to just focus on one or two feasts a month - sometimes that means a homemade crepe bar, and sometimes it means ordering out for pizza! Celebrating these feasts doesn't have to look a certain way. :)
The calendar varies a bit depending on the tradition (Catholic, Anglican, etc), so there's plenty of room to discover and grow in any denomination. I'm technically a Protestant, though I'm more aptly an Ecumenical Mess (term courtesy of Daniel Petty here on substack!)
Happy to chat any time...always feel free to reach out! :) Thanks again for bringing such a thoughtful question forward and for joining us here.
Yes, a feast day isn't supposed to be an obligation (although some feast days are paired with church attendance), but an opportunity. In terms of saints' days, each canonized saint has a feast day (usually the date of their death, in part because birthdates are often unknown). People with particular friendships with certain saints will often mark their feast days somehow, but nobody marks *all* of them (except the universal Church, I guess!).