Ordinary Time, AKA "Carnival": feast days, dancing, singing, and meals with community

Jack and I have been reading into this time between the baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday and have been pleasantly surprised to read about the warmth and intentionality that had always been intended for this season. This time is called “ordinary time” now, but before the Second Vatican Council it was referred to as “Carnival”. Carnival was known as a time to gather, feast, sing, dance, find excuses to dress up and share meals with family and close community before entering back into the austerity of Lent.

We encountered this idea of "Carnival" in Maria von Trapp's book "Around the Year" (which I highly recommend reading, especially if you have children). She talks about how Holy Mother Church, as a good Mother, has built into our calendar year seasons that embody those words from Ecclesiastes:

"There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens...

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing..."

She goes on to explain how important it is as humans to sing, to dance, to even dress up and pretend to be things we are not (think themed parties, not disintegrated or childish experimentation) from time to time. Traditionally, families and friends would gather and live out a sort of prolonged "mardis gras", ending on Fat Tuesday with a dance which would end starkly at the stroke of midnight when everyone would take a knee, pray an our father, and then stand up and wish each other a blessed Lent before leaving to their homes.

We intend to live out "Carnival" this year as a family, starting with a Sound of Music/"Carnival" themed party. We will invite our friends to come in their best Sound of Music or bavarian attire, we'll sing songs, play themed games, share about Carnival and give a toast to Maria von Trapp for introducing us to it, and then end the night by watching the movie.

I encourage you to intentionally gather, eat delicious meals with other families, sing, dance, and throw some parties during this season before Ash Wednesday. Ordinary Time does not mean becoming unintentional or unfocused, but rather it is a time to live even more intentionally in the ordinary, to love and live extraordinarily in our daily lives and in the families and communities.

One easy way to live liturgically is to celebrate the Saint of the day and do some little activity, or eat some dish, that is related to them or where they are from. Below are the different feast days for this month of January to inspire you.

Jnauary 1 - Mary, Mother of God / New Year’s Day

January 3 - Holy Name of Jesus

January 4 - Solemnity of the Epiphany

January 5 - St John Neumann

January 6 - St Andre Bassette

January 11 - Baptism of the Lord

January 13 - St Hilary

January 20 - St Sebastian

January 21 - St Agnes

January 22 - Prayer for the legal protection of the unborn

January 24 - St Frances de Sales

Jnauray 27 - St Angela Merici

January 28 - St Thomas Aquinas

January 31 - St John Bosco

May we continue to love Jesus ever more in our daily, ordinary lives, all through Mary.

Anna