St. Mary Church in Hana, Maui’s 2021 Advent wreath (Photo: Sherry Hayes-Peirce)
SOCIAL CHURCH TIPS
Digital tools to share your Advent
By Sherry Hayes-Peirce
One of the most visible symbols of the Advent season is the wreath we place in our homes, lighting a candle on it for each of the four weeks on the journey to Christmas.
Creating a unique Advent wreath every year with your family is a beautiful tradition. There are many YouTube videos, Instagram reels, and Pinterest or Etsy examples of Advent wreaths.
Last year, I drove the Road to Hana and visited St. Mary’s Church where their thick Norfolk pine Advent wreath had lovely berries, pinecones and large, white votive candles sporting colored ribbons.
Share a picture of your Advent wreath on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, and tag it #HCHAdventWreath.
Another way to celebrate the season is to participate in an Advent picture challenge. It helps us to focus on a word or experience associated with the season and share a picture of it through social media. The Catholic internet site Busted Halo has a great one they do every year, which you can follow on their social media pages.
Another Advent photo challenge I have followed and will participate in this year is hosted by catholicmom.com. You can follow their hashtag #CMSnapAdvent. It would also be fun to have families, schools or parishes create their own.
In our Catholic faith, it’s also common to read a daily Advent devotional to help us focus on the journey to Christmas through the Scriptures. One of my favorites this year is titled “5 Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath” by Lisa Hendey, which fosters a daily gathering around the Advent wreath for families to reflect and light the candle.
For many of us on the go who prefer digital options for a daily devotional, “Best Advent Ever” presented by Dynamic Catholic, continues to be a great resource. The Hallow App is hosting #Pray25 featuring the voices of the cast from the series “The Chosen.” The app also has a beautiful playlist of Advent music with a traditional and contemporary sound. Be sure to read the article about the music of Hawaii at Advent too! Some awesome gifts can be shared with children to teach them about our faith. Some of my favorite items to give my grandchildren come from beaheart.com, and they even have a twist on the “Elf on the Shelf” called “Mary on the Mantel.”
Books for bedtime are also great gifts. “The Advent of Christmas” by Matt Maher and “Dear Pope Francis” by Pope Francis are wonderful reads to share with our littles.
Another favorite tradition is the decorating of the Christmas tree. Some of my favorite ornaments are the seashell angels that you can find at any ABC store and fancy ones at specialty places. This too could become a family tradition of collecting shells throughout the year and creating your own ornaments.
In Hawaii, creating origami ornaments would be a fun tradition that teaches about other cultural practices. There are many videos on how to create them. The Nativity scene is also a central part of the celebration of Advent, and placing baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve could be a wonderful way to engage children.
Last but certainly not least, when you sit down to your Christmas dinner, think about ways to celebrate the gifts of each person at your table by including them in your prayer over the meal. May God bless you and your family with special memories this year!
Hayes-Peirce is a Catholic social media consultant based in California.
