As a parent, I’m always looking for ways to bring faith more deeply into our home — to make it something my children love and enjoy celebrating. Over the years, I’ve discovered that faith doesn’t have to stay confined to Sunday Mass; it can be woven into our everyday lives in small, joyful ways.
In the early days of motherhood, long nights with a newborn left me scrolling through social media to stay awake during feeds. It was there that I discovered Instagram accounts introducing the concept of Liturgical Living.
At first, I thought, “We already live through the liturgical seasons every year.” But these accounts showed me countless ways to celebrate them with themed meals, games, decorations, and prayers. One even featured a book of cocktails inspired by saints’ days — one for the parents!
While celebrating every saint’s day on the calendar would be overwhelming, our family decided to focus on three special celebrations for each person: their birthday, baptism anniversary, and patron saint’s day.
After baptising several babies, Pope Francis once said to parents “It is like a birthday, because baptism makes us reborn in Christian life. That is why I advise you to teach your children the date of their baptism as a new birthday: that every year they will remember and thank God for this grace of becoming a Christian.” That is exactly what we aim to teach our children when we celebrate their baptism anniversary each year.
On the Sunday 11th January we will celebrate The Baptism of the Lord. In the Gospel we will hear the Father’s voice declare that Jesus is ‘my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ Our own baptism confirms our deepest identity as people created, loved and chosen by God. This is surely worth celebrating, not just on our baptism day but each and every day of our lives.
At home, on the anniversary, we light a candle, renew our baptismal promises, bless ourselves with holy water, and enjoy a small treat — usually donuts. We try to invite their godparents, though busy schedules don’t always allow it; still, they send messages of love and prayer. It’s simple, yet it’s becoming one of our favourite family traditions. I hope that one day, my children will look back on these little moments — the candlelight, the laughter, the donuts — and remember not just that faith was always at the heart of our home but who they are, a child of God.