Christmas Novena

During Advent, we prepare to celebrate Christmas - Jesus's birth. We take this time to prepare in a special way to welcome Jesus into our hearts and into our lives. The Christmas event can take on a special meaning for children when they become actively involved in the preparation. This short novena is meant to help your child, and even you, "build" a Christmas crib. Each day there is a suggestion for the practice of a virtue which is associated to some part of the Christmas scene, for example, "We offer Jesus the manger of our love." A short child-friendly re-telling of a Scripture passage that focuses on the virtue is followed by a verse of a song and brief prayer appropriate for children. The detail of the manager scene for each day can be colored by the child.

This novena is perfect for parents or teachers who want to bring the true meaning of Christmas alive for kids. It is a springboard for other creative activities. The symbols can be colored and cut-out and hung on a Christmas tree as ornaments. Alternatively, each day the colored elements of the Christmas scene from the novena could be attached to tiny magnets and a "refrigerator" nativity scene could be created. On Christmas day the children could lead the family in re-telling the Christmas story as a special "meal blessing" before the Christmas dinner or before opening presents. Teachers could use the novena throughout Advent so that the children assemble their own "nativity" to bring home as ornaments or in a box so they can tell the story at home. Or they could give the ornaments with their own written or recorded version of the Christmas story to shut-ins in the parish.