Candlemas day is one of my favorites, especially this year. I am really glad I live in a part of the world (Northern Hemisphere) where Christmas and Lent happen in the winter. Winter would be really strange without the special seasons of the liturgical year to carry us through it.
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| Our Lady of Lourdes found the infant Jesus. | | |
The main way we mark Candlemas is to enjoy our last day of Christmas things, like the few decorations we still have up (the tree came down on Sunday) and all of our favorite Christmas songs.
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| I love our cute little red crabapples. |
Mother nature decided to celebrate in Minnesota this year with a blizzard, which makes me feel all Laura Ingalls Wilder-y. I mean I can't experience a snowfall in the Northern Midwest without thinking about all the winters I read about in her books. So, it even looks like Christmas outside.
We did the traditional food thing with pancakes, and I decided that from now on chocolate chips in pancakes is a part of the Catholic St. Paul, Minnesota tradition. So, if you live here, make chocolate chip pancakes. We could make it a nationwide thing even. Everyone make chocolate chip pancakes for Candlemas next year. It will be awesome.
The girls and I spent lunch eating pancakes and singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain" as loud as we could. It was fun. I am not normally like that at lunch lest you think that I am some sort of cool mom. Candlemas just made me a little giddy.
And to top it all off, this guy turns eight months in two days. How did we get 2/3 to one year already?!?!?!?!?!
And Lent starts next week. If you are interested, here is the link to my
Lenten Wreath and Stational churches.
I so want a larger living space so I can keep our tree up past Epiphany. We are literally tripping over it in our apartment. And why pancakes?
ReplyDeleteI do what fisheaters tells me: http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterepiphany3.html
DeleteThey say crepes, which are very thin pancakes. I say pancakes because I am American. We have a smallish living room so our tree is very narrow and artificial. :)
We recently picked up a copy of George Weigel's 'Roman Pilgrimage' which goes through all the stational churches, that I'd like to read during Lent. I loved the idea you had of printing and placing all the churches on a map as you go through them. I might have to do that with my girls.
ReplyDeleteHappy feast of St. Blaise! I'm so glad that y'all had a good Candlemas. We ate veggie crepes, and I decided that I need more crepes and pancakes in my life :) And today I ate breakfast by the light of the Christmas tree one last time before taking that and the Nativity down. It makes me really excited whenever I hear about other people who keep up their trees or nativities all the way to Candlemas! I hope that you have a wonderful last week of ordinary time before Lent begins!
ReplyDeletePancakes are the best for any celebration. When we received a waffle iron as a gift, it made it even better!
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