Celebrating Candlemas

Yesterday afternoon I sent the kids outside to enjoy our beautiful weather while I prepared a special lunch for Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I had hoped that we would be able to go to town to attend Mass and have our candles blessed, but it just wasn't possible this year.   Anyhow, here is what was included in this year's Candlemas Tea Luncheon, inspired once again by Alice at Cottage Blessings, which we enjoyed after reading the story of the Presentation from New Catholic Picture Bible.

~ Feast of the Purification White Vanilla Steamers ~
(with Whipped Cream and Pure Hearts)

This year I didn't have any White Hot Chocolate, so I opted to make Vanilla Steamers using our Cocoa-Latte Hot-Drink Maker, topped with Whipped Cream.

I also made a quick batch of White Chocolate Hearts using a new heart moldI recently picked up and my nativity mold.    The White represents the purity of both Mary and St. Joseph.

"Out of obedience and humility, Our Lady went to the Temple for the ritual of Purification, but she was at all times sinless and spotless from the moment of her conception."

~ Water ~ 

"Water is so associated with purity and purification that a pitcher of spring water for the table makes sense for this celebration."

~ A Pair of Turtledoves ~

...perched on top of one of my platter stands, with a picture of the Presentation.

Like last year, I made Peanut Butter & Jelly Dove Shaped Sandwiches using my Tasha Tudor Dove Cookie Cutter.

~ Holy Simeon's Arms ~

Like always, mini pretzels are perfect for symbolizing arms folded in prayer. 

~ Piercing Swords ~

 I did have some cocktail swords, but the boys asked if we could use Playmobil ones again.  :) 

"Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2: 34-35

~ Anna the Prophetess ~ 

I did end up purchasing a package of Fudge Mallows (generic Mallowmars) this year and they were great!  I love the symbolism that Alice attached to these cookies:  

"The black outer shell shows that she is a widow, but inside you will see the purity and goodness of her devout heart represented in the white center. Note that the marshmallow stands on top of a graham cracker, and remind the children that this good woman never left the floor of the Temple day or night."

My children love black olives so I included a bowl of them, like last year, as well as some Snap Peas... With all the cookies, I wanted to make sure my children were eating something healthy.

~ Edible Candles ~

I made a little change to our Edible Candles this year.  Instead of using Ginger Thins and Shortbread Cookies, I used just one Nabisco Pinwheel.  These worked great as candleholders and I didn't have to worry about securing the "candle" with icing so it wouldn't fall over.  :)

~ A Lunchtime Visitor ~

"Hello!"

~ Smiling Faces ~ 

They sure love the special "teas" we have from every so often! 

~ Candlemas Crepes ~ 

Hubby didn't completely miss out of the feasting this year...   I did make Candlemas Crepes with Sausage and Orange Juice for dinner!  Yum!! 

O Blessed Mother of God, who went up to the Temple according to the law with your offering of little white doves, pray for me that I too may keep the law and be pure in heart like you.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.

A Tea in Honor of Our Lady of Altagracia

As I mentioned earlier, this afternoon we made a couple crafts and had a (tea-less) Tea in Honor of Our Lady of Altagracia, inspired by yet another one of Alice's amazing Liturgical Teas.  This one is is based on the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Altagracia, which was translated by Helen from the original Spanish!

~ Our Mother's Hand's ~

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our 
Patroness.
  Look at us here, prostrate in your presence, desiring 
to offer you this novena as a testimony of our love 
for you and in thanksgiving for the innumerable
 favors that we have received from your hands.

For this activity, the children made:
  "Our Mother's Hands" Stained Glass Windows

~ The Love of our Hearts ~

You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our 
needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to
 learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to 
offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, 
dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively 
to our supplications. Amen.

For this activity, the children all created "love notes" to our dear Mother Mary. I gave them each a large red heart shaped doily (I picked up a pack of 16 from the Dollar Store), a smaller white heart cut out of copy paper, and a pile of stickers.

~ Three Graces Tea Menu ~

Supplications

1. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia, 
all pure and Immaculate from your Conception! We
 beseech you to bless us, your children, with the grace
 to love the purity you practiced and to preserve the 
innocence of our children. Hail Mary…

2. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia, 
admirable model of Christian mothers and wives in the
 humble house of Nazareth, we beseech you to bless our 
homes, making them flourish in the holiness of
 matrimony. Hail Mary…

3. Oh sweetest Mother of Altagracia, 
you received into your arms the Holy Infant who died 
for us on the Cross, we give you all of our
 sufferings, so that at the hour of our death we may
 die with the name of Jesus on our lips and in our
 hearts, and fly to heaven with the help of your 
maternal arms. Hail Mary …

"The Novena specifies the three graces we request from Our Lady, and the menu offerings of the tea reflect them in a simple way."

1. Love of Purity ~ White ranch dip represents purity and will go well with the vegetables in the next menu offering.  This reminds us of the perfect purity of the Holy Family.

2. Home Blessing ~ This next offering reminds us of the humble home of the Holy Family in Nazareth, and we ask for a shower of blessings upon our homes, making them flourish in the holiness of matrimony.  Since Our Lady of Altagracia is patroness of the Dominican Republic, Alice suggests "we remember "Home Blessings" with produce that grows in this, her chosen homeland: snap peas or pea pods. When you break open the side of the pod, the peas inside look like a family in their house. "

3. Maternal Arms ~ In the last supplication we ask for the grace of flying to Heaven with the help of Our Lady's maternal arms.   For this offering Alice suggests serving small twisted pretzels.  She says, "The original German pretzels were meant to represent arms crossed in prayer, but I think they would make a wonderful maternal embrace for these purposes"

I also served a bowl of White (Our Lady's Purity) Pretzels (Maternal Arms).

~ Treats for Our Lady of Altagracia ~

For a delicious dessert in honor of Our Lady of Altagracia, Alice suggests serving caramelized bananas over coffee ice cream since the chief exports of the Dominican Republic are coffee, sugar and bananas.

Directions:  To carmelize the bananas, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the bananas in half and sprinkle with butter and brown sugar. Bake about 7 minutes or so. If this is too difficult, use plain ripe bananas over coffee ice cream--or even vanilla ice cream with bananas and a drizzle of coffee syrup.

The next treat I made was a crown of stars for the "beautiful lady with golden skin and a crown of stars."   ~  excerpt from A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia   I placed our little hand painted Our Lady of Altagracia doll in the center.

Our Lady of Altagracia's Chocolate Stars

Melt and mold Yellow Chocolate according to directions using a star chocolate mold. 

Our Lady of Altagracia Orange Smoothies

You can find the recipe from this delicious drink at Catholic Cuisine.

Final Prayer

 

Holy Virgin of Altagracia!

From your hands and your maternal heart we receive 
each day the sustenance that you give to us from Our
 Father in heaven. 
You are our defense in danger,
 our indispensable help in our necessities and our hope in the sacrifices required of the Christian 
life. 
Through your Immaculate Heart we desire to pay tribute
 to God with a hymn of thanksgiving for all the 
benefits you have distributed.
 We promise you, Oh Mother, gratitude and fidelity.
 You will always reign in our homes and in our town, 
where all venerate you as Our Lady and Mother, you who
 make all virtues increase and thrive. 
We are honored to be called your children.  We hope to finish our lives serving God and you until 
we reach the highest grace possible, the grace you
 will help us to attain, the great gift of heaven
 itself.  Amen.

Our 2010 Jesse "Tea" for Advent

Our family really enjoyed the Jesse "Tea" we had last year, so we decided to do it again this year! Since this year it was just days after Thanksgiving and our road trip to visit my Husband's parents, we weren't able to have it on the first Sunday of Advent, but the following week was just as enjoyable! It really could be done anytime during Advent, or you could even serve a little something to go along with your Jesse Tree Ornaments and Readings each day of Advent!   Here are some pictures from this years "Tea."

Since our children are now very familiar with all the Old Testament stories, we all sat around the table and, as we got to each menu item, they took turns telling everyone the story it symbolized. I always love listening to the stories in their own words...

Here is what was included in our menu this year:

~ The Jesse "Tea" ~

A couple of us had tea and the rest opted for "Adam's Sparkling Apple Cider."

(We also decorated the table with the pretty Beeswax candles the girls made in Little Flowers.)

~ Adam's Apple ~

This year we had little bags of Sliced Apples with a gummi worm serpent!

"And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat." Gen. 3: 6

~ Noah's Ark ~

This year I adapted this darling idea from Kaboose.

I decided the first one was too big, so modified the snack ark to the smaller version below:

"And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations. I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me, and between the earth. And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall appear in the clouds: And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth. And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh upon the earth. " Gen. 9: 12-17

~ Abraham's Stars ~

This year I made our own Chocolate Stars, one for each person, using a Wilton Candy Mold and White Chocolate Melts!

"And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and number the stars, if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be." Gen. 15: 5

~ Isaac's Bundle of Sticks ~

This year I used red string licorice instead of string cheese to tie our little bundles of 8 pretzel sticks together. It seemed to work a little better.

"And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword." Gen. 22: 6

~ Jacob's Ladder ~

Using the Isaac's Bundle of Sticks, each person makes their own ladder.

(This photo is from last year.) 

"And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it." Gen. 28: 12

~ Joseph's Coat of Many Colors ~

Once again, these were very fun, and easy to make, following Alice's directions.

"Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colours. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him." Gen. 37: 3-4

~ The Burning Bush ~

This year we dipped our Broccoli Florets dipped in Bowls of Tomato Basil Soup, since I wanted to add a few more healthy main items this year.  (It doesn't look like I got a picture of the soup though!) 

"And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." Exodus 3: 2-3

~ Moses' Tablets of the Law ~

I bought Milano cookies, as recommended by Alice, but added Roman Numerals I-X with chocolate icing. I love how they turned out!

"And after this he said: Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the former, and I will write upon them the words which were in the tables, which thou brokest." Exodus 34: 1

~ Jonah and the Whale ~

I wasn't able to find the Whale Crackers this year, so our "Whales" were fish! :)

"Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. And Jonas prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the fish. " Jonah 2: 1-2

~ The Root of Jesse ~

Baby Carrots since they are a "Root" Vegetable

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root." and "In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious." Isaiah 11: 1 and 10

~ David's Star Tea Sandwiches ~

I just used two different sized Star Cookie Cutters to cut one star out of bread and a slightly smaller star out of cheese.

1 Samuel 17: 12-51

~ Bethlehem, House of Bread ~

A Plate of Rolls to go along with our soup!  Next year I think I might actually serve Bread Bowls filled with soup! 

"But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet: And thou Bethlehem the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule my people Israel" Matthew 2: 5-6

~ John the Baptist's Honey ~

Last year I ordered a box of Honey Stix from Amazon for about $14.00, not realizing I would be receiving 384 of them (instead of 48)! I think I am going to have Honey Sticks until my children are grown! 

I also served shell shaped butter with the rolls. 

"And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb." Luke 1: 41
"For this is he that was spoken of by Isaias the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." Matthew 3: 3

~ Angelic Messengers ~

Eliminating another candy from last years menu, I decided to try Lacy's Angel Snack, using Kix instead of Oyster Crackers, since I already had them in the cupboard. My children loved these!

"And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. " Luke 1:26-28

~ Flowers of Jesse ~

This year I used a White Cheesecake that we ended up saving from Thanksgiving and topped it with a few Roses.

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. " Isaiah 11:1-3

Be sure to visit Cottage Blessings for more ideas, recipes and her shopping list!