February Liturgical Overview with Links
On this page you will find resources for popular feast days celebrated in the Orthodox Church in February along with links to where to find them!
My intention is to take the overwhelm out of planning by providing a simple overview of these feast days, fun ways to participate using what you have at home, or what you can easily gather, and book recommendations- along with links to various resources! I hope to share ideas on how you can more easily engage/connect our Liturgical lives not only with our participation in the life of the church but in our homes as well; and our Little Church. These are not just activities for activities sake, of course. My hope is that these will aid you in sharing more about our faith with your children in a way that is developmentally appropriate, allows for their exploration and participation in the feast, and hopefully cultivate a rich soil in their hearts that allows the seed of Truth that stays with them all the days of their life. I absolutely love learning more about the saints and feast days and try my best to set them apart from other days. I hope these resources are a blessing to you!
Scroll down to find some fun ways to live liturgically this month!
Check out my monthly printables for Liturgical Living, now available for download:
See our first video with PNP Kids on YouTube as we make butter, coming soon! Recipe included in the caption!
Make your own St. Brigid's Crosses - You can easily make your own St Brigid’s crosses out of pipe cleaners (tutorial HERE) or watch this YouTube Video.
If you own the 2024 Orthodox Children’s Calendar, flip to the February activities for a visual explanation of how to make St Brigid’s cross using pipe cleaners!
The Presentation of our Lord into the Temple- is one of the 12 Great Feast Days in the Orthodox Church. Another name for the feast is The Meeting of our Lord, and in some Western traditions you may hear it referred to as Candlemas. The story of the Presentation is told in Luke 2:22-29. Mary (Theotokos) and Joseph were faithful Jews and observed their religious customs.
Song for Kids about the Presentation of Christ by Gigi Baba:
In the West, you may have heard this feast day referred to as “Candlemas”
Bring Candles to the Church to be Blessed - In some churches there is a tradition to bring their candles to their local church where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year. For Christians, these blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who referred to Himself as the Light of the World.
Make your Own Candles! About 450 AD in Jerusalem, people began the custom of holding lighted candles during the Divine Liturgy of this feast day. Making candles is a fun way to connect with this long standing tradition and have fun while doing it! You can make candles using a rolled beeswax kit like this one (affiliate link) or by melting pellets of beeswax - see THIS tutorial.
Valentine’s Day decorations are everywhere and schools are gearing up for Valentine’s Day parties. We couldn’t help but thinking that we’d much rather have saintly valentines rather than Disney or cartoon valentines, so Draw Near Designs created some! With silly and loving phrases, we think you and your kids will just love these.
Check out these blogposts for Lent:
Read the Story about the Presentation of Christ
For Biblical Stories, we love to read them directly from the source! You can find the story of the Presentation of Christ in Luke 2:22-29. In The Children’s Reader Bible, this story is on page 173.
Book Recommendations:
Heaven Meets Earth: Celebrating the 12 Great Feasts - by Ancient Faith Publishing has information about each major feast and is a book I use all year round! Highly recommend having a copy of this one in your collection. Grab your copy here.
Saint Simeon and the Entrance of our Lord into the Temple - by Masha R. Jones. This gem of a book is brand new, created by a fellow Orthodox Homeschool Mom! I love the whimsical illustrations and the simplicity of the story, as my 7 year old can easily read it aloud for us. I know you’ll love it too. Available on Amazon (affiliate link).
February My Synaxarion: A Saint for Everyday - by Potamitis Press features the Presentation of Christ on February 2nd. We can’t stop singing the praises of this little series of books, and I appreciate that it also highlights the major feasts too! Grab your copy here.
The Meeting of Our Lord (Twelve Great Feasts for Children Series) - This little series of books is a great little collection created by Mother Melania at Holy Assumption Monastery. The illustrations are simple and beautiful with whimsical watercolors and Orthodox iconography. On their website they also offer a FREE companion work sheets and activity ideas, including teacher's key and lesson plans. To obtain your FREE copy, please click Meeting of Our Lord Worksheets to download.
The Story of You by Orthodox Children’s Press - shares about a churching from the perspective of parents! This is a great opportunity to remind your children about their own presentation to the Church at their churching. Whatever Christ does, we do too! My children love this one. Obtain your copy here (affiliate link).
In the Candle's Glow by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson is about how candles are made at the monastery and how we use candles for prayer at church! Since the Presentation is all about Christ being the light of the world, this could be a neat time to reflect on how we use candles in church and how candles are made! You can get your copy here.