Home Altar

My husband gave me a statue of the Virgin for Christmas - for the home altar. It’s similar to the one my grandmother had, which spent a year or two in my room after she died. I love the image, I love the dark blue of my Madonna’s robe, and the bright green of the serpent under her feet.

Our altar has an abundance of Christs. The Infant of Prague wears a medal Yasha’s godmother gave her on the feast of St. Nikolas, five small Icons of Him rest on the altar, and small, baby Jesus rests in the arms of our St. Joseph statue. Behind the altar, on the Icon wall, Christ is under-represented. I’ve been on the hunt for an Icon of Him I can place above all the others.

We like to decorate our altar with offerings. Plants, feathers, beads, and coins. Small things for the saints, and to remind them of our needs. I lean my broom beside St. Paraskeva, the domestic saint, who will hopefully keep it full and strong. St. Anthony collects the abandoned earring in a pair when the other has gone missing. At night, with candles burning and incense rising, it is a lovely sight.