Christmas Novena - Day Two

Today is the second day of the Christmas Novena, a Catholic ritual of a prayer recited or sung during the nine days leading up to Christmas Day.

Agenda:
1. Read a novena
2. Dawn prayer for Creation

3. Rattan nest balls

1. Read a novena

I have been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site:

Day 2: A Prayer for the Animals 

Creator God, we give thanks for the animals and for the grand diversity of life you have created. We give thanks for the roles animals play in our lives, especially as our companions. We thank You for the wellbeing they bring us and for the glory they bring to your creation. As creation faces the wave of extinctions wrought by humankind, we ask You to strengthen us with prudence. In these days of preparation for Your Son, help us seek ways of living that allow all Your creatures to flourish. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

3. Dawn prayer for Creation:

I'm always up at dawn to let my ducks out of their little house, and this last spring I started saying a short prayer of thanks every morning... then I just kind of stopped. I've decided to reinstitute and expand on this habit of a dawn prayer for Creation. I want to add an offering of sunflower seeds, which are a practical thing to offer, because the birds will eat them, and some might sprout into more sunflowers. I think this prayer could become the keystone to my personal sacred practices.

After letting my ducks out, and feeding them, I will sprinkle a few sunflower seeds on the earth and say this prayer:

Spirits of Love and Light and Creation, I remember thee.

Thanks for this land, my home.   

Amen.

 

2. Make rattan nest balls:

I've got a big box of old basket making supplies and so I decided to weave these little rattan globes for gifts for my family, as well as for my hummingbird friends.

Materials: Rattan, sisal string, nesting materials (see below)

I chose a very fine rattan that I previously used to make tea sieve baskets

1. Soak about 5 pieces of the rattan for 20 minutes in a bucket or dishpan filled with water. Remove and let the excess water drain on a towel. The rattan should be damp, but not wringing wet when you begin to work on the project.

2. Make a flat loop with the free end of the damp rattan coil, and tuck the ends under to stabilize it.

3. Begin to weave the rattan over-under at a 90-degree angle, making a kind of star-shape. It won't stay open at this point, which makes it very awkward to weave.

4. When you have a vertical structure, use a new piece of rattan to weave horizontally in a spiral, then randomly wrap as you would for a ball of yarn, but continue to weave over-under as much as needed to stabilize the globe. 

Keep weaving to make the spaces small enough to hold the nesting material.

5. When the ball reaches the size you want, tuck the free end of the reed under previous wraps to hold the end in place. Set the ball aside to dry completely, which may take several days, depending upon your climate.

6. If you want you can apply clear permanent adhesive to the spot where you tucked the reed end under the wrap, and a few other places to stabilize the globe (I didn't do that). Allow the adhesive to dry and set, then trim the free end of the reed close to the final wrap. Add a string to hang.

7. Fill your nest ball with appropriate nesting material! I'm going to use down from an old comforter.

Materials to use: Natural fibrous materials like sphagnum and Spanish moss; down from an old jacket, pillow or quilt; cotton quilt batting cut into 3″ – 6″ strips

Things not to use: Wool scraps can felt and catch baby bird feet; cloth scraps can fray and wrap around tiny feet; Don’t use dyed, or chemically preserved or treated materials.