3 Ways to Celebrate the Assumption of Mary

August 15 is the feast day of the Assumption of Mary, so, once again, we are planning festivities with friends.

As I so often do, I am taking a look back before planning forward, As I do, I thought I would share how we celebrated the Assumption of Mary last year, since I think it could inspire some of your domestic church celebrations this year.

~1~
Enjoy "Assumption Waffles" as a Family Breakfast (or Breakfast-for-Dinner)

We have a long-standing tradition of enjoying waffle sundaes on the Assumption.

Thus, last year, I greeted my family with a simple Assumption of Mary breakfast on the deck.

Flowers brought cheer to our table and, also, reminded us that today is a traditional day for the Blessing of the Herbs and Flowers.

A Madonna Rosary Holder focused us on Our Lady's image and also reminded us to pray the Rosary, or at least the Assumption decade.

A beautiful image of the Assumption offered us talking points in the way of a picture study and pages from A Year with God were read as well.

Blue and white candles, table decor, and food, all reminded us of Our Lady - the white for her purity and the blue for royalty, the heavens, and peace.

The waffle sundaes themselves with rich with symbolism:

Round brown GFCF waffles served as our "earth".  These were topped with syrup for the "sweetness of our Lord" and blueberries for the heavens (and to remind us of traditional Assumption festivities honoring first fruits).  Other toppings were: banana slices, ice cream, yogurt, and/or cashew nuts all reminiscent of the clouds so often depicted in images of the Assumption as well as of the purity of Mary and of God's love for us.

We all loved our breakfast - although one tired boy had trouble waking up for it as can be seen by his face in the photo - and will be repeating some semblance of it this year.

This year, however, we will be adding a bit of typology to our chat, since, each year, I try to add some new bit of symbolism, catechism, story, or artwork to our celebrations.

In Number 4:4-6. It says when the Ark was outside the Holy of Holies (when it was being transported) it was to be covered with a blue veil.

The Virgin Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, often appears in blue to visionaries (as she did as Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Our Lady of Banneax and in so many more of apparitions of Our Lady.

In the Catechism is says, "Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of God dwells. She is 'the dwelling of God [...] with men.'" (CCC# 2676) 

The Virgin Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, often appears in blue to visionaries (as she did as Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Our Lady of Banneax and in so many more of apparitions of Our Lady. 

In the Catechism is says, "Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of God dwells. She is 'the dwelling of God [...] with men.'" (CCC# 2676)

~2~
Go to Mass and Spend Heavenly Time Outdoors

My husband and I have long considered the beach of be a bit of "heaven on earth", so, after Mass in a nearby town, we took a short nature walk to the ocean and enjoyed a quick picnic lunch before he had to go off to work.  

Of course, by the time we had been to noon Mass, walked out to the beach, and prayed grace, everyone was hungry and wanted to eat, so Daddy was being goofy during Mom's "capture the moment for my memory" photos.

Then, we were all too busy enjoying chips, hummus, and watermelon by the ocean to take more photos.

I also laughed, because our quick picnic lunch was packed more for convenience than for symbolism, yet the children noted symbolism: 

Our 3-sided chips brought to mind the Holy Family, where Mary began her life as Mother of God and of the Holy Trinity, which she is now sees as Queen of Heaven.

Dipping our chips in hummus reminds us of how God continually comes down to earth for us - walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, coming in human form as Jesus, descending as the Holy Spirit...

And, fruit reminded us, again, of the traditional blessings made around the world today as well as of how when we say "yes" to God like Mary did, it brings fruit.

~3~
Gather for An Assumption Day Nature Walk, Blessing, "Tea", and Crafts

Once again this year, our friend played host and I facilitator for a wonderful Assumption Day celebration for her children and mine.

We started with a nature walk to go find herbs and wildflowers.

Shortly after we began, my daughter made a perfect find:

Wild blueberries for Our Lady's blue!

Yum! So tiny, but so delicious!

Then, while the girls kept on searching for wildflowers...

...building tiny bouquets...

..the boys went on ahead and found grapes - albeit sour grapes, which reminded us that in some places, like Armenia, they specifically bless grapes on this day.

Why?

In Old Testament times, grapes had a special place of honor and were considered the “first fruits”, so special services of thanksgiving were conducted by priests in the temple.

With the birth of Jesus, the dedication took on a new meaning: Jesus Christ was the first born—or the first fruit—of Mary and, as such, was offered to God in the temple. (Luke 2:25-30) 

Since Mary is seen as the image of humanity fully obedient to God and ultimately sanctified by doing God’s will, as we remember her falling asleep in Christ and Assumption into heaven, we celebrate the blessing of grapes.

Then, we went back to my friend's house to pray the Blessing of the Herbs and Flowers.

As we prayed, we blessed her gardens with Holy Water.

Then, we went inside to make small Marian vases.

Once these were made, we each picked out wildflowers and places them in our vases as we prayed the Assumption decade of the rosary.

Finally, as a break from free play the yard and pool, we enjoyed our simple tea, with "Mary in the Heavens"...

...grapes, which are traditional on this day, as well as herbed tomato salad, because herbs are traditional, too...

..."Blueberry heaven"...

...herb-infused waters (again, for the herb traditions of this day)....

...white casein-free "ice cream" (for purity and the sweet love of God), plus a good helping of silliness...

...and plenty of blessed beauty smiles!

It was a lovely celebration!

More Ideas

We hope this look back at our observances of the Assumption of Mary inspire celebrations for you and yours this year!

If you'd like more inspiration, feel free to browse former sharing at:

Celebrate the Assumption of Mary with Food, Fun, and Fellowship

Celebrate the Assumption of Mary through Fun and Food!

Plan for An Assumption Day Playdate - A Round Up

A Simple Assumption Celebration for the Sick

Our Assumption Day Tea – A Day Full of Moments of Grace

Assumption of Mary: No Cake Nor Juice Boxes, Just Some Drama

The Assumption of Mary: It’s the Process (and the Aim) Not the Product

Mother Mary, pray for us.

Read More

Our Newest Altar Server!

Who served on the altar for the first time ever on his Name Day?

This young man did!

And, who trained him?

Big Brother, of course.

When Children Play

Well, really, Big Brother and Big Sister have been training him at home for years...

...by playing Mass periodically in our living room.

However, once Jack received his First Holy Communion, Big Brother, another veteran altar server, and one of our wonderful parish priests offered him and the other altar server's little brother two sessions of formal training.  Then, today, they all served together at Mass.

It was beautiful! Or, in our newest altar server's words, "That was super, super, super, super, super, super fun!"

Yes, folks, FUN!  Jack said it.  Luke agreed.

So, take heart!  If you've ever had a child that made getting through Mass with peace and prayer challenging, trust that child can change.  Miracles can happen! The opportunity to serve God through being an altar boy can make such a difference in a young child's life.  And, then, that child can grow from this:

Miracles Do Happen

A novice altar server who makes Mom and Dad equally happy and nervous.

To this:

A veteran altar server that was delighted to train his younger brother!

Our Lord invites us to love and to serve.  May we all have as much joy in doing so as our newest altar server does!

Read More

Get Your FREE Printable Pack of 10 All Saints Day Party Challenge Sheets!

{Disclosure: Some links which follow are affiliate ones.  If you click through them and make any purchase, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.}
 
All Saints Day is less than a month away and, last night, I was inspired with the idea of making a pack of game challenge sheets to match the ten saints introduced in the book Jackie's Special Halloween - a must-have picture book for All Saints Day.

So, today I got my creativity on and did just that, creating a FREE printable pack of 10 All Saints Day party challenge sheets.  I am sharing them with you so you can pick and choose a few to use at home or use the entire pack at a group party!

Each sheet in the pack includes:

• a game title
• an image of the saint
• a short description containing information about the saint that connects to the challenge
• a brief challenge (the game or activity!) to remind children - and adults - how to play.

The ten challenges are:

• Build a Church like St. Francis of Assisi, where children will build a church structure with cross in it or on it using whatever materials you provide: recyclables, Duplos, Legos, K'nex, rocks, blocks, etc.(This is a long-time favorite of ours that we've used every year, even when having belated parties due to sickness.  The challenge sheet is updated only slightly.)

• Be Humble and Willing like St. Martin de Porres, where children will sweep cotton balls (or any other material you decide) around obstacles, remembering how St Martin is often depicted with a broom as a symbol of his humility and willingness to help. 
  
  
  
  
  
  For St. Martin de Porres, you could also opt to do the 7-Station Obstacle Course I have previously shared.

• Honor Our Lady Queen like St. John Paul II, where children will pray to Mary while pinning a crown onto her.

• Teach with a Stick in the Dirt like St. Teresa of Calcutta, where children will recall how MotherTeresa began her ministry with “poorest of the poor” by walking around the slum, finding some small children and begining to teach them using a stick in the dirt and will try their hands at communicating a message using only a stick in dirt, Pictionary style. 
  
  My intent is to have either real dirt or sand or homemade "dirt dough" in a tray with a stick and Bible heroes cards (like the ones in this set) next to it.  Then, children can play in pairs, with one child drawing a card and then using the stick in the dirt to get the other child to name the Bible hero, before the other child goes.

• Send Roses from the Heavens like St. Therese of the Child, where children will toss roses from a chair or ladder (as Heaven) into a basket (Earth).

• Knock Down Poverty’s Effects like St. Vincent Vincent de Paul, where children will bowl down plastic pins marked hunger, poverty, thirst, loneliness, sickness, and abandonment with a ball marked charity, much like we've done in the past when knocking out sin like St. Rose of Lima.

• Travel with Tears and Prayers like St. Monica, where children will use a dropper to move "tears" from one cup to another one a distance away while repeatedly praying, “Dear God, I pray for conversion.” (I will likely set up two of these next to each other so kids can race.)

• Balance St. Augustine’s Books, where children will balance books just like we have done in the past for St. Thomas Aquinas.

 

• Make a Church for Our Lady like St. Juan Diego, where children will build a church with a cross and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as we have before with an instant challenge, or using prayer cards, printed images, or pencil and paper along with recyclables, Duplos, Legos, K'nex, or blocks.
  
  
  
  
   
• Create Stick Crosses like St. Kateri Tekawitha, where children will fashion a cross of sticks to remind them to pray no matter where they are. 

I am excited to use these this year, and hope you enjoy using some of them, too!  I'd love to hear how your celebrations turn out and would also welcome ideas and links to other favorite All Saints Day party recipes, games, activities, and prayers.  Please do take a moment to share yours with me.  Thanks!

You can find all my All Saints Day posts here.

Saints in Heaven, pray for us.

Read More

Celebrate the Assumption of Mary with Food, Fun, and Fellowship

This week, I am in the midst of painting pegs for another swap, which reminded me of the Marian Peg Doll Swap I participated in last year on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.  That, in turn, reminded me that I never shared about the actual feast day activities we enjoyed at a friend's home.  So, I am doing so now in case they might inspire your Assumption Day plans for this year.

Our feast day table was set with Assumption-day inspired eats and a Marian peg doll for each month of the year (minus some that were late to the party).  We also had more food in the kitchen.  It included:

• gluten-free, casein-free "prayer arm" pretzels to remind us to pray for the intercession of Our Lady.

 

• fruits and herbs, since both are traditional on this day.
  
  

  
• blueberry pie and blueberry-and-cream topped pastries (since Mary's colors are blue and white).

• herb tea (again, herbs are traditional on this day.)

Of course, as enticing as all the goodies were, we did not dig in until we'd shared time for prayer, learning, activities, and chatting about the feast day.

For this, we gathered all the children together, lit candles, and prayed the rosary.
 

{Disclosure:  Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones.}
 
Then, while the children colored some free Assumption of Mary coloring pages, my friend read and talked about portions of Mary, My Mother, of course, including the parts about the Assumption. 

After this, all the children stood in a line, and we processed into my friend's garden...

...where we prayed a Blessing of the Fruits and Herbs.

Prayers completed, the children enjoyed playing for a bit, the mamas exchanged pegs, then, we all prayed grace, dug into the goodies, and continued to enjoy one another's company.

We had Life of Mary cards available inside to play with and also supplies for making fresh lavender satchels, with the Legend of Lavender in mind.

It was a truly lovely Assumption Day celebration with friends.

As a bonus, my family also enjoyed our own traditional "waffle sundae" picnic later in the day.

We always start this easy meal with prayer and a chat about the symbolism of our foods - such as the blue and white for Mary's colors, "heavenly white" topping over "earth brown" waffles, etc.

Then, we build our sundaes and enjoy digging in!

We also typically select one or more readings about Mary and the Assumption. 

This past year, our selection was taken from Leading The Little Ones to Mary (of which we have an older copy - pictured above next to my son - than the one currently sold - pictured below.)

It certainly was a blessed and full feast day for us last year.  No doubt, it will be again this year. Whether we end up enjoying an at-home celebration as a family after Mass or a full-on Assumption Day celebration with friend's (as we did last year and in 2015), I have no doubt that the day will be meaningful as we remember Mary's Assumption and the hope that we, too, have to join Jesus in Heaven one day.

Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory, grant we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
(Collect Prayer)

Read More