The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs

Author:Janet Luhrs [Luhrs, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-80306-1
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2014-04-02T04:00:00+00:00

Create Easy Rituals

Bet and Mike Kowalski have created holiday rituals that are simple and magical. They spread the emphasis of the season throughout the month of December and into January. On December 1 the Kowalskis and their three children decorate the house. They hang tissue-paper snowflakes and stars from the windows and ceilings, string angels from golden threads, and hang cedar boughs around the windows. They make an Advent wreath and put up an Advent calendar. In a corner of the room, they create an Advent garden where they display the special nativity scene that Bet made. Then they spread their collection of small votive candles throughout the house.

“We use the whole month to focus on the holiday season,” Bet says. “It’s a month to spend lots of time at home together. It’s a month for nurturing and looking inward.”

Each night they light a candle and read a Christmas story to their children. They sing Christmas carols throughout the season and reserve a day to make gingerbread houses. One evening the home-schooling group in their community holds a craft fair, which gives the children an opportunity to make gifts and ornaments. At home, all the family gets involved with making gifts for one another and extended family members. The children’s handmade gifts may include a beautiful picture they painted for a grandparent, a tissue-paper transparency of the Nativity scene, or a little paper bug. “The more the parents get into the habit of making, not buying, the more the children will role-model. It becomes more of a lifestyle,” says Bet.

Although most of the Kowalski gifts are handmade, a few are commercial. As many children do, Bet and Mike’s children eagerly await finding surprises from Santa Claus under the tree on Christmas morning.

“I think it’s important to have a day set aside for the children to feel special. Receiving gifts on Christmas morning is important for children, yet it’s just as important to guide children in acknowledging all the wonder of the Christmas season,” Bet says. “Our children have discovered much magic and wonder in Christmas legends we read during this time. Filling their lives with such stories feeds their souls and imaginations in a very positive way.”

On December 21 the family celebrates the winter solstice. One year they built a fire outside; another year they put lots of votive candles around the house to symbolize the return of the sun. “It’s a very magical time,” they say. “We have a little story we read about the sun, and we sing a song. We go around a circle and each one takes a turn holding the candle and saying why they’re thankful for the sun. It’s a very simple way to acknowledge the sun coming back.

“Any family can do this kind of ritual. Light a lot of votive candles, turn off the lights, and say a few little verses, songs, or prayers … whatever spiritual background a family has. The idea is to bring the family together through rituals.”

Another ritual is Christmas Eve.

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