New Year, New Traditions! Liturgical Living Ideas for January

A grandmother and her granddaughter read the Bible together. (iStock)

Mary Day

Ringing in the New Year is the solemnity celebrating Mary as Mother of God on the first of the year.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “Mary is truly ‘Mother of God' since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God Himself” (509). As Jesus is both human and divine, Mary is the Mother of God because the two natures of Jesus form the one person who was born of the Virgin Mary.

This solemnity marks the end of the Octave of Christmas. After Mass, we celebrate by having our traditional “Mary day” dessert — cake with blue icing!

A saint of many lessons

We almost always celebrate the memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton on the fourth. She is the first saint born in America and is most known for establishing the first Catholic schools in the nation. She was born in New York City in 1774, was married at age 19, and had 5 children with her husband, who ultimately died of tuberculosis in 1803 while the family was visiting Italy.

While in Italy, she learned of Catholicism and ultimately entered the Catholic Church in 1805 after returning to New York. She later founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the United States. She also established St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School.

Being such a popular saint, studying up on Saint Elizabeth lends itself quite easily to research projects and papers. If done as a group project, each child may research a different facet of her life and significance. Then, they may present the information as a group, beginning with one child and having other children add more information.

This year we are going to make schoolhouses out of popsicle sticks. It’s also a good day to learn a new skill as Saint Elizabeth was an educator! This year, I plan to use the “Sew-A-Saint: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton” kit available from the Catholic All Year Marketplace for my girls!

The magis’ blessings

January 5 is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. This is the day the wise men, or magi, arrived bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the newborn King, Jesus.

The magi were astrologers who, upon seeing the new star in the sky, dropped everything and journeyed to find the new King. On this day, we bless our home and begin taking down Christmas decorations!

Some families celebrate by moving the wise men from their nativity sets across the house each day, and on Epiphany, the wise men finally arrive at the nativity of Jesus. Other traditions include exchanging gifts, having a Twelfth Night party, observing the stars, or making constellations and projecting them onto the walls with a flashlight.

Older children and adults may enjoy learning about the symbolism of the gifts the magi brought, while younger children may enjoy coloring pages and learning the gifts are said to represent Jesus’s royalty (gold), divinity (frankincense), and humanity (myrrh).

Celebrating the baptism

Concluding the Christmas season on January 12 is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This is one of the few times in the Bible where the Holy Trinity is seen together.

We read in Matthew 3: “After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Grab a plastic container, some sand, and some Lego minifigs. Get the sand just wet enough to hold a shape and use it to form the banks of the river. Add some water into the middle. Use your Legos to make a crowd, Jesus, and Saint John the Baptist. Finally, have a baptism! Coloring pages, word searches, and craft ideas are easy to find on Pinterest!

Beginning again with Saint Francis de Sales

I particularly enjoy that Saint Francis de Sales’ memorial is January 24 because he has so many quotes about beginning again, right at a time when we are focusing on new beginnings in the new year.

“The work is never finished, we have, continually, to begin again,” and “It is right that you should begin again every day. There is no better way to complete the spiritual life than to be ever beginning it over again.”

However, being towards the end of the holiday season, we are worn out and simply celebrate by learning about St. Francis through videos and text. If I am feeling ambitious, the kids may write about his life and color pictures.

A show of faith

At the conclusion of January, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint John Bosco. Near and dear to many mothers home educating boys, Saint Bosco is known for his work educating young boys as well as for his radical views opposing corporal punishment.

Saint Bosco lived in poverty and dedicated his entire life to educating orphaned boys, who would likely have ended up in prison otherwise. He also knew how to have a good time, putting on entire shows of juggling, acrobatics, and even walking a tightrope! Before or after his shows, he would ask the crowds to pray with him and invite them to Mass.

To celebrate, we pull up some videos of the circus. Then, the children each try to learn a trick or two. We say a Rosary and put on our own circus show!

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Katie Leonard studied early childhood education at Oklahoma State University. She has found her passion in home educating her children and passing on the faith to them. Find more of her columns for the North Texas Catholic here.