Things just smell better this time of year- have you noticed that? It isn’t just at home, either…the whole world smells like snow and cinnamon and tinsel. As we travel back and forth, traversing interstates and country roads to visit family, even gas station bathrooms are nicer, somehow. Some combination of music and lights and cookies and hot chocolate (with or without the special grownup additions) seems to put almost everyone in a good mood.
I suspect that a big part of the reason we love this time of year is because of its traditions. We are designed for shared ritual, and during the “holiday season,” our culture experiences that like no other time of year. I’ve written before about my friend’s family, who says that if you do something once and really like it, it’s a tradition (and if you do it twice, you’re stuck with it whether you like it or not). During the Thanksgiving-Advent-Christmas season, there are so many special foods and activities that we do every year. Rituals and shared meals abound.
Choosing to live by the rhythm of the liturgical calendar gives us the opportunity to live with special traditions and foods all year long. There are feasts to be celebrated during each month of the year, not just in November and December. We get to expand our shared rituals and feasts to the rest of the months of the year, and there is always something to anticipate.
But how do we do that? How do we begin to explore all the feasts and traditions?
Haley and Daniel Stewart of Carrots for Michaelmas have created another resource to help us embrace the feasts of the liturgical year in a manageable way that is easy to implement. Their first book, Feast!, is a great introduction to observing the feasts and seasons of the church year. In their new book, More Feasts!, they expand this idea to include the whys and hows of celebrating the feasts of saints. The Stewarts write beautifully about how living liturgically can enrich both your spiritual and your family life. With 10 new delicious-looking (gluten-free) recipes, reflections and activities for families, More Feasts! makes me feel excited about the chance to create some new traditions with my family in the coming year.
I love that these books come from a home that is truly living out this rhythm in a creative, vibrant way. This is not a hypothetical guide. This is a real-life, tried and tested experience of one family who has found a way to make the rhythms of the church year an integral part of how they live out their faith as a domestic church.
You can get More Feasts! exclusively at Carrots for Michaelmas for $3.99 right now (plus an extra 25% off through December 15 with the code HAPPYFEAST). The original book, Feast!, is on sale for $4.99 during Advent (it’s usually $7.99).
Do I have to be Catholic? Aren’t these feast days a Catholic thing?
No way. The church year belongs to all Christians. The saints included in the book are saints in the Catholic understanding, but their stories are worth reading no matter your faith background. Haley does a wonderful job of explaining this in the book. And besides, everyone needs a good sushi recipe.
I’m so overwhelmed by all of this. How will I be able to do it all?
You won’t. Don’t try. Just pick one or two feasts that appeal to you and try them out. As you develop traditions, your celebrations will grow and maybe increase in number. The important thing is to do what works best for you and your family.
Is there a print copy of the book? I don’t have an e-reader.
The first volume, Feast!, is available here in print for $21.99. Right now, More Feasts! is in e-book form only, but it’s a pdf file. You can download it right to your computer. No e-reader is needed.
The Stewarts have generously offered a copy of the new e-book to one of my readers. If you’d like to win, tell me about your family’s favorite tradition (any tradition!) in the comment box below. I’ll choose one winner randomly on Saturday.
Check out the other stops on the More Feasts! blog tour this week- everyone is excited about this book!
Fine print: the giveaway is open through 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday, December 12. Winner will be chosen randomly by a drawing. This giveaway is open to all – no geographic restrictions, since we don’t have to mail anything!
Surviving Our Blessings 