With just under a week left before the Christian New Year(!), my mind is lately fixed on December, shopping, and decor; but I think I’ll try a shift in focus this year.
Without a doubt, December is my favorite month. It’s so full of coziness, Christmas decorations, and cold temperatures that I can’t help beaming with contentment. If you’re a Hobby Lobby shopper, you noticed Christmas merchandise way back in July and by Halloween it had taken over a third of most chain stores. While I giddily anticipate Christmas as much as the next 6-year-old, this year Andrew and I are decidedly celebrating Advent as never before, and leaving Christmastime to Christmastime.
There is a general tendency to disregard Advent, and even Thanksgiving, resulting from commercializing Christmas – focusing on deals and beating the rush rather than prayerfully preparing for the coming of Christ and the celebration of his birth. I’ll be the first to admit that most years, I fail to get into the Christmas spirit because my focus is not actually on Christ, but on the lesser aspects known to the secular world; and those are the years that I skip over Advent, paying little attention to Scriptures or neglecting to strike a match at my Advent wreath. The word Advent itself comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” When expecting guests for a party, the celebration doesn’t start before they arrive, it begins with their coming; and the time of anticipation is spent preparing myself and my house for them. So it should be for Christ at Christmas. This year I want to get excited with anticipation and prepare my soul as Christ’s home. Advent provides a marvelous opportunity to dive into salvation history leading up to Jesus’s birth. Allowing myself time to understand the context and profundity of God’s physical presence on earth offers a genuinely spiritual joy for the Christmas season. It’s a chance to learn why Christ came and wonder at both the details and bigger picture of God’s loving plan for humanity.
photo by Paul Johnston
So what will we be doing this year? I’ll resist the urge to deck the halls with reds and whites, as those are colors for the Christmas season. Rather, we will accent our evergreens with royal purples and pinks and leave our tree undecorated until Christmas Eve. Our Advent wreath will glow every night at dinner and I’m planning to make a Jesse Tree to teach our children the stories of the Old Testament that anticipate Christ’s coming. Our nativity scene will sit atop the fireplace, but without the baby Jesus for the duration of the season. Why all the details? Aside from reflecting on Bible verses and stories, it’s important to have more tangible reminders to keep oneself in the mindset of Advent.
While the more common Gregorian calendar is used to mark the passage of time, the liturgical calendar marks and celebrates the sacred mysteries in the Life of Christ; his birth, life and ministry, death, and resurrection. The start of our new year as Christian Catholics is December 2nd, the first Sunday of Advent, and the Christmas season begins at sundown on Christmas Eve. There is a time and season for everything and while it’s certainly exciting to prepare for the next celebration on any calendar, don’t forget to live in the present liturgical season to better participate in the delights the Church offers now.
