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.
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.
Check out this brand new episode with Patristic Nectar Kids as we make rolled beeswax candles for the feast!
Watch this episode on Patristic Nectar Kids Youtube as I share more about these beloved saints and how we celebrated their feast day making homemade poptarts!
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.
The beginning of Triodion is here! As we embrace humility, like the Publican in this week’s Gospel, the Church offers us a reprieve from the usual Wednesday/Friday fast this week! Invite some friends over and share a delicious meal together.
I recently learned about St Abigail, and I am so fascinated by her story! Since she is considered the patron saint of beekeepers and honeybees, here are some simple ideas to celebrate:
Share a honey themed dessert
Serve tea and honey
Make whipped honey on her feast day!
Lent is right around the corner! Sit down and write out a meal plan for your family and how you will eat for the next 40 days. Also think about:
What lenten services will we attend as a family during? Add them to the calendar now!
How will we fast? Discuss any exceptions or dietary concerns with your priest. Something I do - make a 2 week meal plan, and duplicate it 3 times! Don’t forget to plan for fish days (Annunciation/Palm Sunday).
How will we pray? Lent is a good opportunity to hone in on our prayer lives and establish healthy habits
What will we read? Maybe pick up a new Lenten devotional or spiritual reading!
