March Liturgical Overview with Links
This month is jam-packed. But before you have a min-panic attack… let me break it down for you. Triodion is in full force (the 3 weeks leading up to Lent), we are trekking through towards Lent (starts March 18th), so much of what I’ve listed here is automated. If you are attending services each Sunday and commit to embracing Lent as much as you’re capable of, you’ll be just fine. I’ve added in some fun feast day traditions here if you’re feeling extra capacity but don’t over stress about it. So here are some ways to embrace the liturgical season this month (IN SLIDES):
On this blogpost you will find resources for popular feast days celebrated in the Orthodox Church in March along with links to where to find them!
Scroll down to find some easy ways to live live out the liturgical calendar this month!
Check out my monthly printables for Liturgical Living, now available for download:
Available in Old and New Calendar (all in one download)!
Fun Fact: The date of this feast may have been intentionally chosen around/during Great Lent. The reasons; (1) the number 40 being both the number of martyrs and the number of days in the Fast; (2) the martyrs’ endurance serves as an example to the faithful to persevere to the end (whether that be during Great Lent or life in general) in order to attain their heavenly reward!
Make 40 Cookies - If you’re wanting to find a simpler way to remember the 40 Holy Martyrs, try baking 40 cookies! What kid will forget the day and/or story when you made 40 cookies? You can make it extra fun by buying a blue plastic table cloth (representing the lake) from the dollar store and let the kids decorate the cookies on top of the table cloth.
Bake Skylark Buns - There is a pious custom of baking “skylarks” (pastries shaped like skylarks) on this day, because people believed that birds sing at this time to announce the arrival of spring. Skylarks are prepared in honor of the Forty Martyrs. You can find a recipe HERE.
Mucenici Bread - A traditional Romanian tradition in some regions is to make sweet honey walnut breads in the shape of an infinity (8). You can watch this video on YouTube and find the recipe in the caption.
Mucenici Soup - A variation in the traditional Romanian dish in some regions they make a sweet soup with infinity shaped dough. It consists of a sweet soup flavored with vanilla, rum, cinnamon, walnuts, lemon zest and orange peel. You can find the recipe here.
Liturgical Living Tip ⤵️
For lent, try adding pops of purple to your home 💜 For Orthodox Christians, lent begins March 17th with forgiveness vespers. We will see changes in the Church.... the lights dim, the clergy are wearing purple/dark vestments, and the liturgical music is much more somber. Since the home is where we spend more of our time, we should consider making changes to our environment that reflect this liturgical season as well.
During Lent, I usually add pops of purple 💜 all around. I typically buy artificial flowers so I can use them each year, without having to buy new seasonal decor each time. Making these changes to my environment helps me focus my attention, and alerts everyone in my household that there has been a shift. We have entered into the season of Lent- the bootcamp for our souls! 💜
I've put together some purple decor suggestions to help decorate your home, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Shop my LTK links below:
The Annunciation- is one of the 12 Great Feast Days in the Orthodox Church. Bearing the message from heaven, the agent rushes towards Mary. After a moment of humble hesitation, she accepts God’s plan, and the world is changed forever. Now “all generations will call [her] blessed.” (Luke 1:48) The time had come for God to announce to His people the good news, which is what the name of this feast means. The archangel Gabriel called Mary “highly favored” and “Blessed.” In her humility, Mary was troubled at being called such things. But the angel Gabriel reassured her, saying that she had “found favor" with God,” that through “the power of the Highest” she would be the one to give birth to His Son. Mary responded with God-pleasing obedience; “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). This was the good news: Through Mary’s cooperation, God was going to save us by becoming one of us. It is a time for all of us to rejoice and prepare- God is now with us!
Why is this feast placed on March 25th every year? The Church sets aside March 25th as the date we commemorate the feast of the Annunciation because it is 9 months from the Nativity of Christ, on December 25th!
Significance of the Icon of the Annunciation? In the account Protoevangelion of James, there is story of the Annunciation in which the high priest has the temple virigins cast lots for who are to weave the various colors needed for the veil of the temple. Mary was chosen to weave the “true purple”. She took the purple and began to spin it. As she took a pot and went to draw water, she heard a voice saying unto her, “Hail thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with the….” In the icon of the feast, you will see in her left hand she holds a spindle of yarn which depicts the task she was assigned in preparing the purple material to be used in making the veil for the Temple in Jerusalem. Her right hand is raised in a gesture of acceptance in response to Gabriel’s message. Her posture expresses willing cooperation with God’s plan of salvation. She weaves the temple curtain while the Lord of all is being woven in her womb!
A lovely and fun way connect with the feast is by working on a sewing project, weaving, or some other textile project!
Activity Ideas :
Work on creating a Pascha basket cover - As mentioned in the explanation above, the Theotokos weaves the temple curtain while the Lord of all is being woven in her womb! Why not work on a Pascha Basket cover on this special feast? An activity more suited for older children or adults. There are many options available. My favorite source for all things textile is www.avlea.life . On the cheap/very little time--just get a simple piece of nice cloth and hem it. You can embroider a cross at the center (you can always add more embroidery in future years). You can find a Byzantine Crosses pattern HERE. There are several other Pascha Basket patterns or Kits available (click link to view): Pascha Basket Cover, Floret Border, Cycladean Floral Border.
Plant a Mary garden of flowers named after the Theotokos: in this link you can find a list of common flowers associated with Marian themes HERE, but any flowers of your choosing would be lovely as well.
Color an Icon of the Annunciation by the OCA
Buy or Pick Flowers to bring with you to the service to leave before the icon of the Theotokos
Book Recommendations:
Heaven Meets Earth: Celebrating Pascha and the Twelve Great Feasts (page 30) by Ancient Faith Publishing
The Story of Mary the Mother of God by Dorrie Papademetriou
I want to share a little Orthodox Mom Hack with you that’s been working really well for us lately. In order to consistently read the scriptures or daily saints with my children, I’ve found that having a cookbook stand with either the Bible or a Saint book that lives on the table has helped tremendously! There’s something about that visual reminder of seeing it there as we gather for meal times that makes it both convenient and easy to do. It’s usually one of my children who reminds me “Mom, you’ve gotta read us a new saint story!” They absolutely love it and look forward to it each day.
For reading the lives of the saints:
We’ve recently starting purchasing the “My Synaxarion” series by Potamitis Press and I’m so very happy with it. There is one volume per month and there is a saint for every day of the month! They sell the entire series (12 months), which you can absolutely invest in, or you can do what we’re doing and buy them for birthday gifts, name days, and other special days throughout the year and slowly build up the collection.
Check out this video for a sneak peak inside the May My Synaxarion: A Saint for Everyday
For those on the Old Calendar:
Check out these blogposts for Lent/Pascha:
As Pascha draws near, I wanted to create a printable/planner to help you stay organized for Holy Week, prepare sufficiently for attending services, and have a smooth and grace-filled Holy Week and Pascha! A little foresight and planning before Holy Week begins goes a long way so we have a heart like Mary and we can focus on the one thing needful and not be a frazzled mess like Martha running around stressed!