5 Ways to Celebrate the Annunciation

Don't forget:  This year the Annunciation has been moved.

Why? 

Because the Annunciation always falls on March 25, exactly nine months before the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas unless March 25 falls on a Sunday of Lent, during Holy Week, or during the octave of Easter. Then, the date of the Annunciation is moved.

When is it moved to and why?

The Church considers Masses for the Sundays of Lent, any time during Holy Week, and any time from Easter through the Sunday after Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) to be so important that even the Marian feast of the Annunciation cannot replace any of them. So, when the Annunciation falls on a Sunday in Lent (before Palm Sunday), it is transferred to the following Monday. If it falls on Palm Sunday or on any day in Holy Week, it is transferred to Low Monday, the Monday after the Sunday after Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday).

So how can we celebrate?

(1)  Go to Mass, of course! 

Mary's "yes" to God made way for Jesus to come to Earth as a person.  Our "yes" to God by participating in Mass allows Him to come to us in the Eucharist.  The Annunciation may not be a Holy Day of Obligation, but it most certainly is a perfect day to make an extra effort to get to Mass.




(2)  Pray the Rosary - or at least a decade of it. 

The youtube version above has some lovely artworks of the Annunciation included in it. A Cookie Rosary can offer ideal symbolism:  For, the Annunciation forecasts the blessed event of the Nativity of Christ, thereby illustrating the cyclical nature of the liturgical year. The circular shape of the cookies can remind us of the cycle of the Liturgical year as well as the endless love of Christ for us.  (A circle has no beginning or end; it just keeps going around!)

If you young ones have trouble with the Rosary, maybe some of the strategies I have used in the past can help you.

(3)  Respect life! 

This feast is an important one in the defense of life, for God loved us so much that He became on of us, taking on our human nature by becoming an innocent, completely dependent infant.  Honor that by teaching children (and adults!) about the high value God places on human life.  Pray for the unborn.  Offer time, talent, or treasure to a friend or stranger that is with child.  You could even get crafty, decorating bibs and onesies for newborns.

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Or, you could enjoy some pro-life books with your children.  Some favorites of ours are:

The Preborn Christ

Before You Were Born

Angel in the Waters

We also enjoy The Altar Gang's Skif and AJ's Fantastic Voyage- a favorite fun pro-life DVD!

(4)  Paint a Peg Doll.

A friend of ours painted a lovely Annunciation peg doll as part of a Marian Swap we did.  The doll even contains lilies (symbolic of the Virgin's purity) and an open Bible (symbolic of the Isiah 7:14 prophesy).

(5)  Put together a last-minute treat and story time.

We did this last year and it turned out beautifully!  Stories, treats, prayers, even art study! 

O God, who willed that your Word should take on the reality of human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man, may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
~Collect Prayer

Have a blessed Feast of the Annunciation!

Celebrate the Annunciation with Simplicity

Some days are so full that celebrations must be kept relatively simple: a few books, some decorations, easy symbolic eats, and you're good to go.

Seriously, a special celebration need not take long to prepare or enjoy.  In all honesty, I had this one set up in less than 10 minutes, and my children and I enjoyed it as a faith-filled pause in our day.

The Books

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Since I timed out celebration to coincide with our read-together time, I chose a collection of books I had on hand:

• Saints for Young People for Every Day of the Year (which is out of print, but available used and is in many libraries) is a classic that is short on illustrations, but solid on succinct text that is easy to read aloud and was the first selection I read with the children.

• Just Like Mary is a sweet illustrated book that includes he Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, the Visitation, The Presentation, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Crucifixion, Mary a the Mother of the Church, the Hail Mary and more, teaching children about rusting God's will, saying "yes" to Hod, showing kindness to others, dealing with "fears and tear", turning to one's guardian angel, and praying to Jesus and seeing Him in the Eucharist.  We've enjoyed this book for year now and, of course, revisited the Annunciation portion during our celebration.  (This book currently sells used for only a quarter and is not expensive new either.)

• The Rosary: Chain of Hope is a book I've been meaning to read, which has a lovely image of the Annunciation that we used for a quick picture study along with the reproductions included in A Calendar of Saints, which we read from as well.

• The Annunciation is a little softcover gem with eye-catching watercolors and rhyming psalm-like text that we read together each year on the Annunciation.  (Right now, its price has skyrocketed at Amazon, but, if you search Orthodox book publishers, you can typically find it for $8 or less.)

The Decorations

The books themselves were decorations, along with:

• a white tablecloth as our "picnic" blanket in honor of Mary's purity.

• white and blue candles, again, in honor of Mary's purity, as well as her typical color - blue.

• a Madonna rosary holder statue that graces our table (or blanket) on most Marian feast day.

• an Our Lady of the Annunciation peg doll from a Marian peg doll swap we did set with a simple angel figurine near to it so as to recall the scene of the Annunciation.

• a bowing Mary figurine that we like to put out on this feast day as her position reminds us of her humble "yes".

• an Annunciation prayer card, with the Angelus on its back.

Symbolic Foods

We set out a cross of white and blue toppings - So Delicious CocoWhip, flaked coconut, peeled and sliced Japanese pears, sliced bananas, and blueberries - along with some So Delicious chocolate "ice cream". 

The colors of the toppings, of course, were to remind us of Mary, and the ice cream - in truth- was what was left in our freezer from former special days.  I thought we had some "pure" vanilla evoking Mary's persona, but belatedly realized we had partial containers of only chocolate.  That was okay, though, as we decided, since the chocolate is an earthy color, it reminded us of the fact that when Mary said "May it be done to me according to Your will", Jesus - as an infant in Mary's womb - came to Earth. 

The children were more than happy to make their own sundaes.  My youngest, in particular, couldn't wait to dig into his favorite - pure white Cocowhip.  (I think the child used more of that than the earthy brown ice cream!

Of course, there was no digging in before we prayed grace and the Angelus.  We also read the Magnificat from A Calendar of Saints and prayed spontaneous prayers in relation to our other reading.

It was a simple, but meaningful - and yummy - celebration in honor of he Son of God becoming he Son of a Virgin as Gabriel announced he coming of grace and our Lady obediently and humbly said, "yes".
More Ideas

Tracy at A Slice of Smith Life is super at simple celebrations of the liturgical year.  See how she celebrates the Annunciation with her children.

May we each say "yes" to whatever God calls us to in our lives.

When Celebrating the Liturgical Year Goes Viral

This past week, I learned what happens when celebrating the liturgical year goes viral. 

Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit.  Nothing truly went viral, but when my blog-friend Tracy, from A Slice of Smith Life, posted a picture of her Annunciation Day celebration on Facebook, it reminded me that the feast day had been moved this year to this past Monday, so I ended up quickly resetting a not-so-great night here by throwing together a celebration with my children. 

"Viral" Celebration at Our House
 
On the table, I placed a treat and small vignette for the Annunciation.  Then, I called to my children in a Mom-wants-you-to-do-something-voice. Surprisingly based on the day we'd been having, not a single one of them responded with a not-so-pleasant "What, Mo-om?" Instead, grace came through their immediate obedience.   

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 My three children promptly came into the kitchen, where they were delighted to see the table set for a surprise celebration and immediately began guessing what feast day it was.  As soon as they saw the Annunciation book I had ordered some time ago, but had never shown them, they knew why they had been called to the kitchen.  It was time to celebrate the Annunciation.

Together, we chatted about the symbolism of how the table was set:  

• white lace and candles symbolized purity 

• a blue candle to represent royalty and the sky/heavens (Mary, Queen of Heaven)

• a bowing Mary statue to remind us of the "handmaiden of the Lord"

• an angel figurine which held a bird, representative to us of the Spirit and had the words "Love is at the center of our family because faith is at the center of our hearts," written on it, reminding us of the Holy Family, the Universal Church family, and God's love for us

• vanilla ice cream with blueberries, representative of God's sweet love for us as well as Mary's typical colors
  

Then, the children dug into their ice cream with gusto as we read the book and, then, prayed a decade of the rosary together using the images and text of The Annunciation to inspire an intention before praying each Hail Mary.

After more smiles, chatter, and prayer - plus seconds on the treats for the children, the children blew out the candles.  As they did, we spoke about how they were blowing out literal lights, but should never let the light of love and faith that shines within them go dark and should, like Mary, always say "yes" to God.
Short, Sweet.  Simple. And oh-so-special.  Thank you, Tracy, for inspiring us to enjoy a faith-based centering on an evening that had been out of balance for us.

Viral Celebration at Friends' Homes

After my family's celebration  I messaged a friend who had just been sharing with me that she, too, was having a tough evening, and suggested that she reset with a focus on the Annunciation, too. She did, and we both posted photos of our simple liturgical celebrations online, whereupon another friend took note and ended up tagging me to thank me for the reminder.  She and her children enjoyed retelling the Annunciation story together before bed using their peg dolls.

Who knows where things went from there...

Keep Faith Going Viral

Imagine.  Mary's "yes" to God at the Annunciation resulted in the Nativity, which unfolded into the Lord teaching and preaching here on earth... the Passion... the Resurrection... the Apostles spreading the Gospel... the growth of the Church... so many choosing to love God and live with faith! We all know God can work in strange ways.  I am a firm believer that He can even work through Facebook.  The Spirit certainly uses the fingertips and keyboards of others to speak to me.  Imagine how He might use us all if we more often paused to listen and respond to promptings - even those that come through cyberspace. In our own domestic churches and in the world at large, the positive force of the Spirit can - and does - come into play! 

What celebration, reflection, expression, or action of faith might you share right now?  Who might model after you or pass faith forward?  God knows!  
May His will be done in us and through us.