St Cecilia was born to a wealthy family. Her father promised her hand in marriage, but she had already made her vow to Christ. She convinced her new husband to let her keep her promise and he was converted to Christianity, along with his brother. All three were martyred for their Faith.
Feast Day Crafts and Activities
Excerpts from A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families , various posts at Equipping Catholic Families and our Saint Scripts Craft Kits (Series ONE and TWO).
Visiting the St Cecilia Basilica with her tomb in Rome, I learned much more about this awesome Saint! The famous statue by Stefano Moderno seen in front of the main altar, presents how the surprisingly intact remains were found “in the same position in which the Saint had died almost fifteen hundred years before. Through a silk veil which modestly covered the body could be seen the gold embroidered dress of the Saint, the mortal wound in the neck, and the blood-stained clothes.”
Read more about St Cecilia here.
St Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians! There are plenty resources online showing how to make cool musical instruments at home with materials you likely have on hand. Do a simple search for DIY Musical Instruments on Pinterest …and you’ll have more than enough ideas to keep your family busy with musical instrument crafts!
Shoebox Guitar: string elastics across a sturdy cardboard or wooden box or cookie tin
Water Glass Xylophone: Fill glasses with different levels of water and tap with a spoon. Check out Pinterest for the cool Wrench Xylophone, repurposing a set of wrenches and adding some paint for color!
Tambourines: Glue or staple two tin pie plates together around the edge. Use a hole punch (or hammer and nail) to make holes at 1″ or 2″ intervals around the perimeter. Thread two or three washers (or hole-punched bottle caps or jar lids) within each interval, weaving the string in and out of the hole-punched pie plates.
Pipes and Panflutes: Use ABS plastic tubes or even straws cut to different lengths, blowing across the top opening to create the sound. The straws make a pretty mild-sounding pan flute!
Rattles: Use containers with matching lids and fill with beans or popcorn kernels.
Drums: Stretch a piece of a balloon over the opening of an empty plastic peanut butter jar or open tin can (with smooth edges!). Secure the balloon in place with a tight elastic around the rim of the container. Add beads or popcorn to double as a rattle.
Do you have your own family activities, traditions, crafts or celebrations to share for this special Feast Day?
Don’t forget to add it at the Celebrate the Saints Link-Up…or pick up an idea or two for your family to enjoy!
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