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Reading Catholic and catholic

Christmas

Book Traditions for Advent and Christmas

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I’m excited to share that I’ve been invited to be part of the Advent series hosted by Bonnie at A Knotted Life.   Kicking off the series this Sunday will be Lisa Hendey.  I truly look forward to following along with it, and of course I’m delighted to be included among the bloggers writing guest posts.  I will be writing for the feast of St. Nicholas.

As a little sneak preview, I am writing about–surprise, surprise–books for Advent and Christmastime.

But I wanted to share here in a more general way how I have used books during Advent, as well as offer some resources and suggestions.  After I wrote in part of my November column for The Catholic Post about some newer books to help keep Advent well, I realize that literature (and for kids in particular, picture books)  can be just as good as devotional works, to get in the spirit of the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Here are some of the nuts & bolts of how we use literature during Advent at our house.

I keep a basket of Advent- and Christmas-themed books tucked away in a closet.   I’ve kept this basket for years, and added to it over time via book sales, library cast-offs and Barnes & Noble “after Christmas” (though during Christmas season) sales. There are perhaps a dozen books that we truly treasure, but the rest are seasonal enough to hold interest and keep us reading.  There are about 50 books in our Advent/Christmas book basket, and I usually also order a lot of other books from the library, either new ones, or old classics we don’t own.   So there is plenty to read this time of year.

I began the Advent/Christmas basket of books when my oldest (now 15!) was a toddler.  I learned about the tradition from Catholic moms on various e-groups (in the Wild West, before we got all our great ideas from blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest).

At that time, some moms shared on the e-groups about how they wrapped (sometimes in liturgically correct purple or pink) each one of the books well ahead of Advent, and then unwrapped one each day of Advent and Christmastime.  

That idea makes me tired just thinking about it, so needless to say that has never happened here.   I used to have some guilt, like I wasn’t quite “mom” enough to pick out and wrap dozens of books.  Now that I’m a little wiser, I leave that behind.

In reality, I feel accomplished simply that I am able to keep those books tucked away all year and bring out the basket at the beginning of Advent.

I won’t list all the books in our family’s basket (though I will share one special book on Bonnie’s blog next week, and a few others later in Advent here).  For one, I think there are fewer than a dozen that we cherish.  Mostly, though, it’s because so many moms over the years have made some great lists that I don’t need to re-invent the wheel.

Here are just a few sources if you are interested in starting this tradition at your house:

*Elizabeth Foss, whose endless energy and generosity has enriched her own family and shared freely with other families great book suggestions and themes, takes special care with Advent.

*Mary Ellen Barrett has a blog devoted to keeping Advent at O Night Divine.  Here are some of her many, many book suggestions.

*Jessica at Shower of Roses has a nicely curated list of Advent books (and trust me, I hold nothing but admiration for her for actually wrapping the books, God bless her).

*for those who would like a book rather than a web resource, Cay Gibson’s amazing Christmas Mosaic  has a list of dozens of books, crafts, recipes and other ideas for making Advent and Christmastime special for families.

Picture books and Christmas-themed literature are unique and wonderful to move and inspire us during this season of preparation, and then as we celebrate Christmas.

Do you have an Advent and Christmastime book tradition?

Q & A with Local Author Deacon Bruce Bradford

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Following is my brief interview with local author Deacon Bruce Bradford, author of An Angel Named Herald, one of the books I reviewed in my December column about Christmas gift books.  Thanks so much, Deacon Bradford, for sharing about your book and your life here!





Q: Tell Catholic Post Book Group blog readers a little about yourself and your family.

I’ve been married 47 years to my wife Terry, and we have four children and 10 grandchildren. Both Terry and I were born and raised in the state of Maine. I worked for Pan American Airways for 25 years( and so I can say that the TV series is not all that accurate.). We lived in New York City; Shaker Heights Ohio; and then 38 years in Oak Park, just outside Chicago.  In 2006 we retired to Pekin to be closer to our daughters and five of our ten grandchildren. I was ordained as a permanent Deacon 26 years ago in Chicago. At present I am assigned to two parishes; St Joseph in Hopedale & St Mary in Delavan. I am an amateur actor (20 years) and am presently in a production of A Christmas Carol. This fall, I performed in “The Ghosts of Spoon River.”

I also volunteer driving seniors for the Miller Senior Center, and conduct a “Bible Connections” session for the mentally and physically challenged at PARC in North Peoria. I am constantly reading and enjoy travelling around the country with Terry to visit our boys in Houston and Minneapolis.  Isn’t retirement grand?

Q:  How did you come up with the idea for the book?

Six years ago I decided that as Deacon of the Mass I wanted to read something after the Gospel of Luke on Christmas Eve for the children.  I created Herald to be used as someone we could emulate as a messenger for God’s message of love. The response that first Christmas eve was “Where can we buy the book?” I of course had to say that Herald was in my head only.  People urged me to publish which I respectively laughed off.

When I moved to Pekin and was assigned to the two parishes mentioned I read the story to the children and again was asked about a book. A parishioner overheard my discussion. She walked up to me and said,”Publish it, and I want the first copy.”  Eight months later she had her copy.

Q. You mentioned that the book was initially intended for your grandchildren.  What made you want to publish it to a wider audience?

I asked myself why publish “Herald”?  I determined that if I published it would be for my ten grandchildren.  I wanted them to have something of their grandfather’s creation. The original orders for books reflected that desire. Then I decided to get additional copies for the children on Christmas Eve and my friends at Parc. I started getting requests from friends for the book and suggestions that I do a book signing.  I’ve had one in Oak Park, one at Lagron-Miller in Peoria, and on December 20th I’ll be doing another book signing at “I Know You Like a Book” bookstore in Peoria Heights.  The book has been a blessing, and has reunited me with so many folks around the country.

Q.  What do you hope readers take away from “An Angel Named Herald”?

Herald’s story is our story.  Jesus came to create a “new” kingdom; a kingdom based on Love and action.  We like Herald, have doubts that we are up to the task, but God like he did with Herald provides us with the tools to be his Herald.  We, like Herald, are called to be God’s messengers.

Q. Is there anything else you would like to add, or wish I would have asked?

People have asked if there will be a sequel. My answer to that is Herald in our lives is a daily sequel.