Start by recognizing which holidays are important for you to celebrate. For Christians, Easter and Christmas stand out as primary religious holidays. You might also observe other significant days, such as Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Marking those dates on your calendar helps you start planning for your celebrations and traditions.
Taking time to reflect on previous celebrations helps you generate ideas for how to bring some of those traditions into your assisted living apartment. Think about how you recognized the holidays at home with family and friends. Consider how your previous churches celebrated and which of those traditions were important to you. This helps you decide if you can implement some of those traditions now, even if it's been years since you last observed them.
Space constraints and regulations set by your assisted living community might affect how you celebrate some traditions. Find ways to modify traditions to keep them alive while complying with those constraints.
For instance, lighting Advent candles is a common tradition. If your assisted living community doesn't allow real candles, swap them out for flameless, battery-operated candles. Downsizing to a smaller nativity set or Christmas tree allows you to have those symbolic decorations within a smaller living space. If you traditionally host large family meals for religious holidays, many senior living communities offer private dining rooms or kitchens where you can still host those gatherings.
A new home in an assisted living community gives you the opportunity to create new holiday traditions that build on your faith. Look for new ways to observe the holidays you already celebrate or recognize new religious holidays you haven't previously celebrated.
For example, you might strengthen your faith by starting a Lent Bible study to prepare for Easter. At Christmastime, you might volunteer to serve a holiday meal at a local shelter. Consider how you want to expand your faith and how you can relate that back to celebrating holidays.
By decorating your assisted living apartment for religious holidays, you enter into the mindset of embracing your faith. Choose religious decorations to emphasize the meaning behind the holiday. Hang decorations on the outside of your door or in your apartment windows to spread the sentiment to your neighbors. Playing Christian music adds to the faith-based approach to the holiday.
Assisted living communities host a wide range of activities every day, including holiday and seasonal celebrations. Take advantage of those opportunities by attending the events that focus on your favorite religious holidays. This is even easier when you live in a faith-based assisted living community where it's common to find many religious activities throughout the year. Being active within the community gives you the chance to build relationships with other residents.
One advantage of moving to assisted living is meeting new friends who live within the community. Getting together regularly helps you grow those friendships and build new traditions together. Some residents might not have family nearby, so organizing celebrations together helps you start new traditions and keeps them from feeling lonely around holidays. If you want to give back to your neighbors, put together Easter or Christmas gift baskets and deliver them to their doors.
If your friends and family live nearby, hold on to your traditions with them. Taking a trip to their homes offers a fun day trip away from your assisted living community, or you can invite them to celebrate with you on campus. Even if the celebrations look different, you can reminisce about previous holiday festivities as a family as part of your new traditions.
When faith traditions are your priority, explore local churches to learn about their services and special events. You might find a church that hosts a live Nativity at Christmas time, for instance. Churches typically host special services for religious holidays, such as Palm Sunday, Easter and Christmas. Look for a church that reflects your faith practices and holds activities that remind you of your past traditions to make the experience meaningful.
The holidays are the perfect time to share your faith with others and perform kind acts for your community. Look for ways to donate your time and talents at the holidays. For instance, you might help with a holiday gift drive for families in need. Volunteering to help with your church's holiday services and activities is another way to give back. Acts of kindness don't have to be formal volunteer opportunities. For instance, write your favorite Bible verse related to the holiday in a card and hand it to a stranger to share God's Word with them while brightening their day.
