We have had the same Advent traditions since our oldest was a tiny, nursing babe. We have an ornament for every day of Advent that has a prophecy from the Old Testament about the Messiah on one side and how Jesus fulfilled it in the New Testament on the other side. We also have a book of doors to open that tells portions of the Christmas story straight from the Gospel of Luke.
In previous years, we let the youngest read or we took turns reading. At this point, the entire family can quote every word by heart, so we just fall into speaking the words out loud together as one... Delightful!
Do not under estimate the power of memorization and repetition. There were years the kids grew bored with this tradition and grumbled, but we persisted. There were many nights we adults were really tired and bored with this, but nevertheless, we did not grow weary with the well-doing.
The girls are surprised at how well we all know the words and there's joy in reciting it all together. Their faces light up. I wonder now if we will just continue reciting the words it together like this from now on.
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