Christmas in the Monastery ...by Sr. Julian

Although the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours are the essence of our Advent and Christmas seasons, we do manage to celebrate in other ways too!

After a wonderful Thanksgiving feast prepared by our Chef Nico, we gather in our community room to draw Kris Kringle names. All during Advent, we keep the secret of whose name we have chosen and may offer special prayers and little gifts anonymously for this person. Kind of like a secret Santa, I think? Christmas Eve night we gather around our Christmas tree and open packages from our Kris and are surprised and filled with merriment. Part of the fun is making do with a spending limit of $10 or less. 

We open our Kris gifts

Another community tradition is decorating our Christmas tree the day before the Solstice, December 20. Of course there are some refreshments to entice us to help decorate! Some of us just sit and admire--or give directions, Ha!--about where ornaments ought to go.

We decorate the tree

The next day, Winter Solstice, December 21, we turn on the lights of our Christmas tree and enjoy Christmas tree poems and songs. Again, there are refreshments to enhance this process.

On Christmas evening, we open gifts from community friends. And we play the Book Game (sometimes known as the Battle of Books). Purchased by Sr. Laura, our archivist and most published author, the books are beautifully wrapped by her and consist of a wide variety of fiction, non-fiction, artistic and sometimes scientific books. The books are spread out on the floor, and Sr. Angela, our Prioress, distributes a number or letter to each Sister. Then she randomly calls these out for the Sister to choose a wrapped book.

Exploring our books

 All of the books are welcomed, but there are favorites. This is where the fun (and competition) begins--a sister may choose a book from the floor, or she can choose a book that another sister has already opened. Sometimes a book will change hands three or four times and occasionally a sister only begrudgingly, or at least hesitantly, turns it over. This is a time of a lot of laughter and fun. Of course, the availability afterwards of Sr. Anna-Camille’s homemade Christmas cookies urges us to finish the book exchange in a timely fashion.

Although simple, our monastic celebrations at this time of year are full of community joy and peace. Every year we look forward to these times of celebration together.

We wish you and your loved ones a holy and joyful Christmas and Epiphany season.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  • Comment posted by Melanie on January 2, 2025 at 5:41PM (38 days ago)

    Thanks for sharing how to do a fun book exchange. What were some of the favorites this year? Praying for God’s abundant blessings for you in 2025 and always.

  • Comment posted by Janice Ariza on December 27, 2024 at 12:10PM (44 days ago)

    I thoroughly enjoyed "sharing" your fun along with you!
    May God Bless You All abundantly this year and keep the joy flowing.

    • Comment posted by sr julian on January 2, 2025 at 7:24PM (38 days ago)

      Thank you, Janice!
      You are part of our Christmas season at the monastery!!

  • Comment posted by Kathy Mattern on December 27, 2024 at 11:57AM (44 days ago)

    I'm so glad there's plenty of love an refreshments to go around! Sounds wonderful and I'm sure looks beautiful, also.

  • Comment posted by Sister Monika on December 27, 2024 at 11:19AM (44 days ago)

    A lovely run through recent memories, S. Julian. And the photos really catch the spirit of our celebrations.

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