Ember Days are no longer on the official calendar, but their observance offers a rich opportunity for participating in the graces of Advent. In December, Ember Days are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the feast of St. Lucy. These days are set aside for fasting and abstinence from meat. Similarly to the three other quarterly fasts, the focus of these days is thanksgiving for creation and salvation. The traditional symbol for the December fast is the olive; we thank God for the olive harvest which brings us the oil for sacred chrism. The liturgical readings delve into the Messianic prophecies. In addition to intentional small sacrifices, meatless meals, and penitential acts, there are many simple activities families may enjoy together to mark the fast.
All Week
Make time for a nature walk or hike. Praise God for His gifts.
Read Scripture together as a family.
Determine what type of fasting, abstinence, or sacrifices to practice; meatless meals, one meal per day, turning off electronics, etc.
Wednesday: Thanksgiving and Almsgiving
Cut an olive branch to place in a flower arrangement. Make observations about the color and structure of the plant. Look up how olives grow and how olive oil is made. Connect back to God’s provision in our daily lives.
Donate to a charity providing food or meals to the poor.
Bake bread or cookies to give to someone the family chooses.
Friday: Conversion
Go to confession.
Make extra effort to examine conscience.
Strive and pray to overcome a particular weakness.
Saturday: the priesthood
Pray for priests, seminarians, and vocations to the priesthood.
Make cards and pray a spiritual bouquet to send to a priest or seminarian from the family.
Scriptures - Propers from extraordinary form
Lighting a pillar candle (or the Advent wreath) helps everyone to focus when the Word of God is read. Elementary age children may also like to copy a verse onto a card and decorate it.
The propers from the extraordinary form are taken from the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah and the infancy narratives of Luke.
Wednesday: Isaiah 2:2-5, Isaiah 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38 (link to printout)
Friday: Isaiah 11:1-5, Luke 1:39-47 (link to printout)
Saturday: Isaiah 19:20-22, Isaiah 35:1-7, Luke 3:1-6, Isaiah 40:9-11, Isaiah 45:1-8 (also 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Daniel 3:47-53) (link to printout)
Meal iDeas
Olive Bread - toasted or made into grilled cheese sandwiches
Warm Olives - warm up olives from the deli section on the stove (typical canned black olives or green olives with pimentos will not work as well). If not seasoned, try adding orange zest and a few red pepper flakes with olive oil.
Onion egg tart or quiche dates from the Middle Ages. Pair with a history lesson.
Pasta with a sauce of olives, capers, and tomatoes
Pasta with garlic and oil (“aglio e olio”)
Fish “Veracruz” style (made with olives, capers, tomatoes)
Tuna steaks poached in oil and garlic
Niçoise salad, using the better quality canned tuna chunks