Advent at St. Jude the Apostle

St. Jude the Apostle School is a great Catholic school and we celebrate Advent in so many different ways. I love St. Jude and I have gone to this school since I was 4 years old. Every day I have wanted to get out of bed so that I could go see all of my amazing friends and teachers there. They have made all the work we do here fun and easy. Here are some ways that this amazing St. Jude community celebrates Advent.

One way that we celebrate Advent is lighting a candle each week on our wreath as a school. Not only do we do that, but every morning we read a story from the Bible and put an ornament on our Jesse Tree. This is a family tree of Jesus’ family and we do all of that on video every morning. It is a great way to start off our day.

Another way we acknowledge Advent is a giving tree. Our giving tree has ornaments on it with things that you can bring in to give to shelters to keep families warm during the cold winter. There are many other ways we acknowledge Advent, like Confession which is done sometime in Advent. We also set up a Nativity scene in our classroom, in the lobby, and, in front of our church, we set up a life-size Nativity.

There are a lot of ways we celebrate Advent and here is one more: We go to church and learn all about Advent in the church and in our classroom. There is one special way we celebrate Advent in our classroom though. We do something called “Advent Angels” which is like a secret Santa, but it is for Advent. We pick our sticks with names on them then we give that little bit of hope, peace, love and joy each day whether that is with a note or a hug. The day before we go on break we give our “Angel” a little gift and reveal who had who. Those are all the ways that we celebrate Advent.
I love St. Jude and we celebrate Advent tons of different ways. Maybe sometime you could come to St. Jude’s and visit while we celebrate and join us. Make sure to spread a little bit of hope, peace, love and joy each day. Have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. Oh, and stay safe during these crazy times.

Mae McGrath, a sixth grader at St. Jude the Apostle School, stands next to the school’s Jesse Tree (above) inside the front entrance.