Vol. 1, Issue 4: Family Feast Days
Celebrating your patron saints (and some housekeeping announcements)
Dear friends!
Hello again and welcome back to Signs + Seasons! Before we dive into the pieces below, I’d like to share a few housekeeping notes with you all.
Kristin, Dixie, and I try to be very upfront with you all about the goings-on behind the scenes here at Signs + Seasons—we want this guild to be a place that serves and nourishes you, not a place that adds to your stress or your to-do list beyond your capacity. To that end, we are going to switch to a single mid-monthly issue, rather than biweekly, with a goal of giving our contributors ample time to prepare, and our readers ample time to digest, the high-quality writing that we want to share with you all. This means that today’s issue combines the “themes” of what would have been the next two issues—celebrating family feast days and the feast of Candlemas on February 2. If you have a piece that you were hoping to share in the February 1 issue related to Candlemas, we’d love to see it dropped in the comments below, and if you’re already working on a piece about Ash Wednesday or the Lenten season, please note that our next issue of Signs + Seasons will drop on February 15, the day after Ash Wednesday this year (so feel free to send it our way for that issue!).
Thanks so much for your understanding and your continued presence in this space. It is a true joy for us to serve you in this way!
In Christ,
From the Editors
Now you all can find / the holy times that man must hold onto
starts off our reflection on family feast days with an invitation and a reminder: we don’t have to do it all! We are blessed to receive a tradition of the liturgical calendar that spans centuries, covers the globe, and changes over time. As we dive into some ideas and stories of celebrating family feast days, let’s keep this truth in mind:The list of worldwide feasts would keep us booked every day if we honored it strictly. Let’s extend faith to the work of prayer and the cloud of witnesses - that even when we miss a feast day, someone else is surely celebrating it for us. Let’s not burn ourselves out, and instead respect our own human limitations while also following our curiosity and learning about how others celebrate.
Read Kristin’s reflection here. You don’t want to miss it.
Growing in Joy through Family Feast Days
To get us started, I’m thrilled to offer you this very practical introduction to the concept of family feast days from our very own
. If you’re opening this email asking, “What is a family feast day?” or “You mean you expect me to buy more gifts?” this is the piece for you:In my house, for example, on each of your feast days you get to pick dinner and dessert and everybody says Happy Feast Day to you a whole bunch of times throughout the day and is very happy for you. Dad might find time to play an extra game of chess with you, or you might discover someone has made your bed for you while you were lingering over your coffee.
And that’s it. You don’t get the moon.
You can read the whole thing here. (And, no, you don’t have to buy more gifts if you don’t want to!)
Do you and your family celebrate any family feast, whether religious or seasonal or “secular”? If so, what day(s) do you celebrate? How do you mark the occasion?
Around Substack
The Case for More Parties
writes honest, practical encouragement when it comes to throwing parties—big or small—for important feast days in your personal or familial calendar. Beyond the “what” of family feast day parties, though, Meredith articulates an important “why” behind the practice of celebrating regularly:We need to mark our days, lest they feel endless. My little family partied all the way through October, and it was restorative for us to laugh and sing and light things on fire, even if the only thing we made for a cake was box brownies covered with store-bought frosting and raspberries. Because every party is a definite end point that, in some small way, points toward the definite end point. Celebrating together serves to remind us that we’re not in an infinite loop. We are going somewhere. And the very best is yet to come.
Anyone giving me permission to light more things on fire (even just candles!) is a win in my book. You can find Meredith’s piece here.
The Holiness of Breastfeeding
explores the history of the icon of Mary, Nourisher-with-Milk, a beautiful image of Our Lady nursing the Christ Child. I her description of the way that the Church’s understanding of Our Lady stems from her understanding of Christ, and the ways in which ancient heresies required beautiful truths to be articulated in the life of the Church:It may be easy to see why orthodox Christians at the time of the Christological heresies would embrace this icon, depicting the human reality of Mary and Jesus. But it’s equally easy to see why today, many mothers, and the people who love them, are also re-embracing this icon. Sometimes, Mary can seem far removed from us. She says very little in the Gospels (though the Protoevangelium of James tells us quite a bit more about her life).
I know that I’ll be looking more into the various icons that Catie mentioned—the “First Steps of Christ” had me near tears this morning! Read more here.
NB: If you’re reading in the Substack app, you can use the “save” feature to bring a piece into your inbox. If you’re receiving this newsletter in your email, you can use the “share” button to copy + paste the link into a browser or email to read later.
Which of today’s pieces are you enjoying and/or bookmarking?
Around the Web
February 2: A Feast of Manifestation, Purification, and Candles
wrote this beautiful explanation of the rich historical and typological significance of the feast of Candlemas, including some photographs from modern and 19th-century observations. She ends with a lovely invitation to reflect on the Scripture passage from which the feast originates:Whatever name you observe it under, Purification or Presentation, February 2 is the feast day that is also commonly known as Candlemas, from the custom of blessing beeswax candles on this day for use in the church and in homes. The association of this feast with candles and light came about because in the Gospel of the day, Simeon speaks of the infant Jesus as the “light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32).
I learned a lot from Roseanne and would love for you to check out her thoughts here.
The "Triduum of Fire", Candlemas, & Why the Tree is Still Up!
This reflection from Steffani Aquila over at His Girl Sunday touches a little bit on both our topics for today: celebrating feast days that are important to your family and the Feast of Candlemas on February 2!
The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, also known as Candlemas, is celebrated 40 days after Christmas. On this day Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the temple to make an offering and dedicate their child to God. In the 1962 missal this feast would have been referred to as the "Purification of Mary," which refers to Mary being considered unclean after giving birth and in need of ritual purification and readmittance into the liturgical life of Israel. Even though this feast day isn't a part of the Christmas season, it is considered a "Christmas feast" given that it is the last one pertaining to Christ's infancy.
If you’re interested in reading more, you can find Steffani’s piece here.
The “Last-Minute Liturgical Living” Bundle
Shari von Vranken is an illustrator with a passion for the saints—if you’ve never heard of them, she’s drawn a coloring page of them! Maybe you’re wanting to learn more about a saint who shares your name or whose feast day falls on an important date in your family. Maybe you’re just wanting to dive deeper into the cycle of saints’ days and don’t know where to begin! I’d highly recommend Shari’s coloring pages, games, and “Last Minute Liturgical Living” newsletter. Here’s an excerpt from back in November about a feast day I knew nothing about:
This coming week we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Have you ever wondered what on earth that is and how exactly you celebrate it? I know early on in my faith journey I was completely baffled by feasts like this one.
Sometimes the best way to honor a day like this is to simply research it and explain its significance—the little details of our faith are so rich and beautiful! (This feast has me wanting to draw a series of coloring pages of cathedrals & basilicas...)
You can check out Shari’s work here.
My Nameday: Come for Dessert
My lovely husband
got me this book at our local Half Price Books a few years back, and it is both a bit of a time capsule and an absolute delight. Helen McLaughlin offers history, recipes, and even stores and prices to help families plan budget-friendly celebrations in honor of their family’s patron saints. I wanted to find a quote to share with you all here, but I got too distracted reading the book, so instead I’ll offer a peek at the Table of Contents, to give a sense of the breadth of topics covered:How to Observe a Nameday; Program for a Nameday
Mary; St. Joseph; Most Popular Boys’ Names; Most Popular Girls’ Names; Apostles and Saints who Bear Their Names; The Saints of the Canon of the Mass; Other Popular Names; Virgin Saints; Martyrs; Confessors; Doctors of the Church; Founders of Religious Orders; Holy Women; Scriptural Saints; Special Patrons for Children and Youth; Martyrs and Saints of Great Britain; Gaelic Names and Irish Saints
Index of Recipes; Day-by-Day Calendar of Patrons; Index of Names, Patrons, Namedays
It looks like print copies are somewhat rare, but a Kindle version is available here.
A Modern Catholic’s Guide to Celebrating Candlemas
This deep, deep dive into the history and traditions surrounding Candlemas is not just for Catholics! Touching on everything from Punxsutawney Phil to worldwide recipes, candle blessings to the first spring flowers, this guide provides a variety of helpful ideas and suggestions for those looking to integrate this feast day into their lives!
Since it falls at winter’s astrological midway point, Candlemas has always been a logical time for frigid Christians (and pagans) to ask the obvious question: “How much longer is this going to last?” . . . In England, they used a hedgehog as a meteorologist; in Germany, a badger. And, in America, if the groundhog sees his shadow (i.e., Candlemas day is fair and bright), there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow (i.e., the day is dark with rain clouds), it’s a sign of early spring. If God is present in all things, then he’s present in weird anecdotes about groundhogs and badgers too.
You can check that guide out here.
Know someone who might enjoy the topics covered in this month’s issue of Signs + Seasons? We’d be honored if you’d share this post with them!
Join us for our fifth edition of Signs + Seasons!
Please note our new monthly publishing schedule.
Publication Date: February 15, 2024
Submission Deadline: February 10, 2024
Theme/Recommended Prompt: Ash Wednesday, Lent, and surrounding feast days (such as Valentine’s)
We’d love to hear from you with a piece you’ve written—and posts from past years are welcome—and please do pop over to the comments to let us know what you think of this month’s issue!
In Christ,
Sara, Dixie, & Kristin
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/
Camille! This is so lovely to hear, and happy name day to your lovely Xenia!