Advent
What color(s) are the first two Advent candles?
Purple
5–8-year-olds ONLY: Where was Jesus born?
Bethlehem
What evergreen circle with candles is used during Advent?
The Advent wreath.
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed the little Lord Jesus..."
"...laid down His sweet head.”
5–8-year-old ONLY: What colors can you see in the Northern Lights?
green, red, blue/purple/pink
Anyone: BONUS (+50 points): Which element causes green and red? And which element causes blue/purple/pink?
What word means “coming” and refers to Jesus arriving in history, mystery, and majesty?
Advent
What did the angels first say to the shepherds?
“Glory to God in the highest…”
What do the four candles represent?
The four weeks of Advent.
5–8-year-old ONLY: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth..."
"...receive her King."
What does “Aurora” mean?
Dawn (Mary)
What is the special Sunday with the pink candle called?
Gaudete Sunday
BONUS (+50 point): Do you know what Gaudete means?
Who ordered the census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem?
Caesar Augustus
5–8-year-old ONLY: What is the symbolism of the evergreen circle shape?
God’s eternal, unending love
"Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee..."
"...be all glory giv'n."
The Northern Lights occur when particles from the sun hit what part of Earth?
The atmosphere / magnetosphere.
5–8-year-olds ONLY: Name one thing families can do to prepare their hearts for Jesus during Advent.
Prayer, acts of kindness, going to Mass, lighting the wreath, etc.
What prophetic book says the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem?
Micah (Micah 5:2)
BONUS (+50 points): What tribe was Bethlehem a part of?
Which saint began the first live nativity scene?
St. Francis of Assisi
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail..."
"... the incarnate Deity!"
Name one saint known as the patron of scientists or astronomers.
St. Albert the Great or St. Dominic or St. Joseph.
What is the O Antiphon for December 17, and what title of Christ does it reference?
“O Sapientia” referencing Christ as Wisdom.
BONUS (+50 points): How many O Antiphons are there?
According to the Gospel sequence, what is the order of the visitors/events: angels appear to shepherds, Magi arrive, Presentation in the Temple?
Angels to shepherds → Presentation in the Temple → Magi arrive.
(Magi do not arrive the night of the birth; they come later.)
Which early Church Father compared Christ’s birth to “light entering a dark cave,” influencing Christian nativity imagery?
St. Gregory of Nyssa (acceptable: Cappadocian Fathers)
BONUS (+50 points): Name another Cappadocian Father
“Lo, how a rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men..."
"...of old have sung."
What are the Northern Lights called in the Southern Hemisphere?
Aurora Australis