10 Meaningful Advent Traditions for Catholic Families

The holiday season can be overwhelming, but there are so many wonderful Catholic Advent traditions from all over the world that can be easily implemented into your celebrations! Many of these are even easier to incorporate after you have initially started it, so add a few traditions here and there and watch your meaningful family traditions grow.

I would like to start off by saying that I actually have a special Advent/Christmas planner for Catholic moms to help you learn about and implement these traditions into your season! After each tradition the planner provides you with a specific task to put your Advent plans into action with your family. You do not want to miss this planner if you’re a Catholic mom preparing for a meaningful Advent with your family! Read more about it and see some testimonials here.

I can’t even begin to explain how full and rich the Catholic faith is- these 10 traditions are a mere tip to an iceberg! There are so many meaningful Catholic traditions from all over the world, but let’s look at these top 10.

1. Advent Wreath

I now have an entire article on everything you ever needed to know about Advent wreaths. This is an Advent tradition that is near and dear to my heart as it is one of the only ways my family lived the liturgical year at home when I was growing up. In fact, it’s on my top 15 list of ways to live liturgically at home! Once you have an Advent wreath, it’s easy to pull out year after year. Don’t miss out on this beautiful Catholic tradition!

2. Feast Of The Immaculate Conception

This is actually a holy day of obligation in the USA, which means that Catholics attend Mass on this day. It’s a common misconception that this day is about Mary being pregnant with Jesus, when it’s really a day to remember St. Anne being pregnant with Mary! Make sure your kids don’t misunderstand this Advent feast day as many Catholics do! My printable Immaculate Conception ornament can help with that.

3. St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas day rolls around every year on December 6, and celebrating this Saint feast day is a great way to remember who Santa Clause really is! I have a guide to celebrating St. Nicholas day as a Catholic family here. Our favorite tradition is to leave out our shoes for St. Nick to fill with candy and small treats.

4. Have An Interactive Nativity Set

Display a nativity set prominently in your home- up on the mantel is a great choice! This is an easy way to send a message of what’s the most important for this season. If you’re looking for an easy nativity craft, my printable nativity set only needs supplies you’re sure to already have laying around the house.

We have some special family traditions surrounding our nativity set that makes it a little more interactive and meaningful to the season.

5. Feast Day Of St Lucy (Santa Lucia)

This Saint feast day happens each year on December 13, and I can no longer imagine Advent without it! This day is a huge deal in Sweden, and we like to celebrate with the traditional Swedish saffron buns. Some years when I can’t handle complicated baking, we opt for an easy St. Lucy bun alternative, which may or may not involve canned cinnamon rolls.

There are many other traditions surrounding this day including making gingerbread, dressing up as St. Lucy and star boys, singing songs, lighting candles, and even more! You can find all of my resources for celebrating the feast of Santa Lucia here.

6. Feasts Of San Juan Diego and Our Lady Of Guadalupe

Both of these beautiful feast days fall during Advent! The feast of San Juan Diego is on December 9, and Our Lady of Guadalupe is on December 12. There are lots of ways to celebrate these days, including recipes, crafts, printables, and more.

7. Attend Confession As A Family

A lot of churches have a big confession service during Advent, so watch your parish’s bulletin! This is a great way to prepare for the coming of our Savior.

8. Pray the St. Andrew Christmas Novena With Your Family

This is a beautiful tradition. You can add it to your daily prayers, or do this in place of your current family prayers during the Advent season. My Advent Saint pack also includes a printable St. Andrew ornament that is holding the full Christmas novena.

9. Start A Jesse Tree

I love our Jesse Tree! Basically you have a small tree of some kind, and each day in December you hang 1 ornament on the tree. It starts with Adam and goes all the way through baby Jesus on December 25, showing the stories of the Old Testament leading up to the birth of our savior. I have a post dedicated to explaining the Jesse Tree to beginners here.

You can also find my set of printable Jesse Tree ornaments here. No easier way to get started then to just print them!

10. O Antiphons

Each night for the octave (8 days) before Christmas, we ask Christ to come, and call him by a different name. Each of these names starts with “O”, such as “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. An antiphon is a liturgical composition, and they are traditionally sung. Therefore, they are called the O Antiphons. You can read all about this Catholic Advent tradition here.

Even More Resources

I have even more Saint feast day you can celebrate in Advent this year. The Advent Saints have become some of my favorites!

These kinds of traditions are what build memories your children will never forget, and bring our amazing Catholic faith to life for them! Don’t loose the meaning of this great Advent season in the Santa shuffle.

Here are some Advent traditions that I go over in my Advent/Christmas planner not mentioned here: