Primary Advent calendar 2014

Today’s Gospel reading tells us we must be ready when Jesus comes again. We cannot be sure when this will be, so we must try to be ready all the time.

Jesus asks us to look out and keep our eyes open for what is happening around us, so that we are ready when he comes. What do you think Jesus wants us to see when we look around us? Do we sometimes see people who need our help? What do you think Jesus would want us to do?

This Advent calendar is all about children around the world who are doing amazing things.

Throughout Advent we will meet children who are changing the world for the better and making a real difference.

In this season of Advent, we are filled with hope, as we wait for the arrival of Jesus. What is your hope this Advent?

The Advent wreath is a very special symbol.

The evergreen leaves mean everlasting life, the circle of the wreath with no beginning and no end reminds us of the eternity of God and the four candles are the four weeks of Advent.

How to make an Advent wreath:

1. Cut a hole in the middle of a paper plate 2. Draw around your hands on green recycled paper and ask others to do the same 3. Stick the cut-out hands around the outside of the paper plate to make the leaves 4. Make four candles by rolling paper into tubes (3 purple and 1 pink) 5. Attach a paper flame to one candle on each Sunday of Advent

This is Josue. He is 10 years old and lives with his family in Nicaragua. Josue and his family work hard. Together with CAFOD, they learnt how to keep pigs. They now sell piglets to pay for things they need, like food or school clothes. Josue knows how important the pigs are. He helps to look after them. He feeds them and takes them down to the river every day.

In the afternoons, Josue goes to school. He is doing well in school. He has lots of friends and they like playing football and baseball. He likes studying Maths and Spanish, and wants to be a vet when he grows up.

What do you think would make a brighter future? How can you help to build a fair and peaceful world this Advent?

When I think of God, I think of a brighter future. I think of a world where we all live in peace, we are all one big family.

Christmas is coming soon! As we start to think about gifts under the Christmas tree, CAFOD has some special World Gifts that are a bit unusual, like the gifts of water and food. Jesus taught us to share what we have with others. If you buy these gifts you do not get to wrap them up or to hold them, but you do make a real difference to poor communities around the world. There are lots of exciting gifts this year, like the gift of teaching someone to read. Being able to read a good book is fun. It also gives children a better education and a better chance of getting a job when they leave school.

This is Karen. She is ten years old and lives with her family in El Salvador.

Karen loves to grow plants. She thinks it’s really important to care for the environment. She helps out with clean up campaigns around her town to keep the area nice. I don’t throw rubbish away. It’s important not to throw rubbish away so that people enjoy coming here and have a good time.

Watch Karen’s film and find out more about life in El Salvador.

What can you do to show care for the environment?

As Christmas gets closer and we make preparations for this special time, why not try making some delicious dishes from around the world?

Find lots of step-by-step recipes here

. Try making yummy Peruvian banana cake or Mozambican beans in tomato sauce! Share a meal with somebody today. Remember to say grace before meals.

Choose one thing to share with others this Advent.

The Second Sunday of Advent

Mark 1:1-8

Today’s Gospel reading is about John the Baptist and how he was a messenger for God, preparing people for the coming of Jesus. How do we prepare during Advent? Do you know how people prepare during Advent in any other countries around the world?

The feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is a special feast for Mary, Jesus’ mother. Let us think about mums (and dads) all over the world. Here is Karen’s mum, in El Salvador. She works hard so that her children have what they need. She even built her family’s house. Here, she is embroidering cloths to sell, so she can buy the things her family need. When we are getting ready for Christmas we sometimes get carried away with thinking about all of the things we want. What is the difference between a need and a want?

This Advent, take time to think about what you need so that you can become the best person you can be.

Light a candle. Pray the Hail Mary together so that all people may have the things that they need.

Just over one year ago, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. It was the largest storm ever to hit land. Mary-Faith remembers the storm. It was frightening. With support from CAFOD, Mary-Faith and her family have been working hard to rebuild their lives after the storm. Life is getting back to normal for them.

Watch the film and find out more about Mary-Faith and her family. This Advent, we remember all those who live with the effects of natural disasters, and do not have a safe home to live in.

How can we stand together and support our sisters and brothers around the world?

Today is Human Rights Day

All people have the right to basic things like food. Jesus teaches us that we have a responsibility to help our sisters and brothers around the world to obtain their rights. This year, hundreds of children took action against the food system. Why? Because even though there’s enough food in the world, one in eight people go hungry. We think that’s silly, and we’re serious about changing that. All over the country, children joined the Big Silly Share and did silly things to raise money for CAFOD, and get serious about changing our food system.

Children at Divine Saviour Primary School, Abbots Langley held their own silly bake sale.

Organise your own CAFOD event to support our sisters and brothers around the world have the right to basic things like food! Remember to email us about your events at [email protected]

As Christmas approaches, we remember how Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem. In places around the world, people are forced to make journeys because there is fighting where they live, and it is too dangerous for them to stay. Remember all those families who have had to leave their homes in search of safety over this last year, including families in Syria, Iraq, Gaza and Israel.

Watch the film and remember all those who live with fighting and war.

Play with someone in your class today that you do not usually play with. If you have fallen out with someone, make an extra effort to make friends again.

Earlier this year, nursery children and staff at St Joseph’s Primary school, Oldham bought a gift with a difference!

The school raised an amazing £1,999, including £100 to buy a marvellous moo cow.

The cow can help a family in many ways. A family can improve their diet by drinking its milk. They can sell any extra milk at market to buy things they need. The cow’s manure can help grow crops, and any calves can be passed on to help another family.

Can you buy a gift with a difference this Christmas? Find out more about World Gifts here .

Christmas is getting closer and all around us everyone is getting very excited.

Remember to think about the real meaning of Christmas. What are we preparing for? Why is Christmas such a special time?

Make a Christmas card for someone to show them that you care. Download Christmas cards to colour here.

The Third Sunday of Advent

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Today’s Gospel reading talks a lot about the light. The light is another name for someone very special – Jesus, the light of the world. This reading tells us that John the Baptist came to tell everyone that Jesus was coming.

Why do you think Jesus is called the light of the world? How can we share the light of Jesus with others?

This is Samai. He is five years old, and lives in Sierra Leone. He works really hard at school.

Samai’s mum and dad also work hard, so their children can have good lives. CAFOD has worked with Samai’s family to farm the land so they can grow their own food. They sell any extra food, and use the money so that Samai can go to school.

Watch Samai’s film . Think about what makes Samai happy.

What makes you happy and how can you make others happy? Do something today to make someone else happy.

Light a candle together and pray for happiness for all families around the world.

Earlier this year, World Cup fever spread up and down the country, with children getting involved in all sorts of ways.

Children at St Francis’ Primary School in Preston held a World Cup Day where they played a very unfair game of football! They had a taste of what it’s like to live in the favelas in Rio, Brazil and be evicted from their home to make way for a big football stadium – the activities showed how unfair some parts of the World Cup was.

Find out more about one of the countries that CAFOD works in.

What challenges do families face?

There is one week to go to Christmas! Read the Christmas story with a friend. Imagine what it would be like to be each person in the story. How would you be feeling if you were Mary or Joseph, or perhaps a shepherd or one of the wise men? Retell or act out the story. Or draw pictures to illustrate each step of the story.

Draw or make a Christmas star using recycled paper. Write the name of someone in your class that you think has been a true Christmas star and say something nice about them!

Mayling lives in Nicaragua with her grandmother. She is 11 years old.

We first met Mayling during Harvest Fast Day 2013, for CAFOD’s Big Share. We learnt that many people in Mayling’s village do not have enough food to eat because they don’t have much money. Droughts, heavy rain and pests also make it difficult to grow food. You may remember that CAFOD helped Mayling’s grandmother (and lots of other women) to learn how to keep bees. Mayling loved the honey, because it gave her energy at school. They could also sell any extra honey to buy food. Over a year later, Mayling is still doing well. She is happy because she has been able to continue going to school. She is now in the first year of secondary school and doing well. She enjoys Maths and English!

Thanks to your fundraising, CAFOD is able to support more families to lift themselves out of poverty. Organise an event at school to support the work of CAFOD.

As Christmas approaches, think about the different traditions at Christmas time. How is Christmas celebrated in your home? What different traditions does your family have?

Do you know any other traditions from different parts of the world?

Find out about traditions in another part of the world.

Use our big book or film to find out more about life in Bangladesh?

Today is International Solidarity Day

Let’s think about what solidarity means. All people are God’s children. That makes us sisters and brothers. We are connected to each other. When we walk alongside our sisters and brothers around the world and learn from each other, we call this solidarity. Even though there are huge distances between us, we are still one family—the family of God.

Solidarity is one of CAFOD’s values.

Do something today in solidarity with your sisters and brothers around the world. Remember to send us photographs of something you have done with CAFOD [email protected]

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:26-38

In today’s Gospel the angel Gabriel comes to tell Mary that she will have a very special baby, that he will be the Son of God and will be called Jesus. Mary was frightened at first. Her life was going to change forever. But she had faith in God and said “yes” to all that God asked of her.

The angel Gabriel is God’s messenger to Mary and he brings some very important news. God wants us all to be messengers in the world. To share the message that God loves everyone and that we are all part of one global family.

How can we share God’s message this Advent?

Find out more about the work of CAFOD.

Earlier this year, an amazing 6,000 children entered our Fairtrade competition to design a sock with SockShop. Check out all the entries in our thank you film. The winning sock was designed by 10 year old Elliot from Manchester. When you are shopping this Christmas, look out for the Fairtrade mark. Buy Elliot’s winning Fairtrade sock here.

Fairtrade means that the people who have made the gift or farmed the food are being paid a fair wage for their work. Find out more about Fairtrade here.

With support from CAFOD Mary-Faith and her family have worked to rebuild their lives, after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last year. Typhoon Haiyan was the largest storm to ever hit land. Mary-Faith’s family has a message to people who support CAFOD.

There is nothing to say but thank you very much.

Think of someone who has helped you or been kind to you and say thank you to them.

Light a candle together and say a prayer of thanks to God.

Today is Christmas Eve

Christmas is almost here!

Remember to take the time to light a candle and prepare to welcome Christ, the Light of the World, into your lives.

Pray together

Christ, Light of the world, we welcome you into our lives.

Inspire us to share your light with others and to make a change in our world, so that we may live in peace and have all that we need.

Let us look to the future with hope. Amen