My daughter Lucy just turned 4. All she wanted for her birthday was a party. Why a party? Because a party mustinclude cake and presents, of course! Now given that we put so much effort into celebrating our own birthdays, we should really make Pentecost a very, very big deal. After all , it is the church’s birthday! On this day we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. So, on June 15th, let’s all throw a really big party!

Greeting the Day: As the feast is on a Sunday and getting out the door on time for church is hard enough with children without the addition of extra activities, let us just try to get to church on time. (o:

Afternoon fun: Have your children help decorate for the party and bake a birthday cake. Great party decorations could include rose petals scattered across the table and home to symbolize the tongues of flame, a wooden or paper cut out dove hanging from the ceiling, candlelight and lots and lots of green! Wear green, bring in plants, hang green streamers! For the Orthodox, green is the color of life and the color for the Holy Spirit.

Around the Dinner Table: On feast days, I think it appropriate to read the day’s scripture readings prior to the meal and to sing the hymn of the day (or a Western hymn appropriate for the feast). The readings for Pentecost are Acts 2:1-11; John 7:37-52, 8:12. Now after dinner, there must be cake and there must be presents (after all, it is a birthday party!). But these presents have a special twist. Give your children tiny gifts to symbolize the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I would suggest picking one fruit (or two) each year to focus on. For example, you might pick ‘Generosity’ and give your children little packets with things to give to a homeless person (like a hygiene kit). Or you might, for older children, choose self-control. Give them a favorite candy and if they can manage not to eat it for a week, then tell them they will get another candy. The gifts can be more light-hearted and fun too! You might give your child a gift and explain that it is for a kindness they performed earlier in the week, or for their patience during a certain event. Regardless, use this as an opportunity to explain some of the virtues/fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Memory Verse for the week: But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. John 14:26

***Matt Cuthbertson suggested in a comment on a previous post that I gather various pictures of icon corners in your homes to post and use as examples. I really like that idea and would like to include them in a series on prayer in the home sometime in the near future. Since I am not quite sure how to obtain those pictures via email without possibly inviting spam, if you are interested in having pictures from your home used in the series, please post a comment providing a link to an online public gallery with the pictures from your home. Thank you and happy feast day!

A little about the author of the this post - To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box. Read more from this author