‘Tis the Season
The countdown to Christmas has officially started. How can you tell? It is now generally considered acceptable to deck the halls and dress the tree from December 1st onwards and of course we can’t possibly forget the good ole Advent Calendar, reminding us daily that Christmas morning is getting gradually closer.
It’s exciting! Festivities begin, end of year functions, last days at school or work, Christmas shopping and the all-important festive shopping trips. Seasonal music fills the malls and all becomes merry and bright because (as the song declares) Santa Claus is coming to town!
What’s the deal?
It can be a tricky time as a parent, especially a Christian parent. There is so much to celebrate and be joyous about. It’s a magical season that sparks the imagination but it’s so easy to get caught up in the trappings and commercial mayhem and forget the deeper significance behind the tinsel, lights and goodies. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music, the gifts, the food, the singing, the tree. All of it! I also love the fact that I get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and focus on the importance of that event.
Let’s get creative
Today, Advent is almost entirely about the chocolate filled calendar and the coming of Santa, and as fun as that is, it can become old and dull over time and has very little to do with the great hope contained within the Christmas story. Many parents, both Christian and those of other (or even no) faith, are looking for new ways to make the countdown more meaningful and memorable for their families. Using the tradition calendar as a starting point but replacing the pictures of festive items and sweets with other things. A really wonderful example of this can be found on the blog Between you and me but there are many ways to be creative, make memories or family traditions and add significance to this season.
This year my family has decided that instead of sweet treats in the calendar, we will be marking each day with a new activity. We are planning all sorts, like building a nativity scene; singing carols; having a special bedtime story; baking biscuit and driving to see the Christmas lights. These may sound frivolous but my children are all 7 and younger, so all the activities have been kept age appropriate for little ones. They love it. I love it. It’s going to be a wonderful countdown to Christmas day but I can see already that our Advent celebrations are going to change as they grow older and I look forward to sharing that with them too, in years to come.
What is Advent?
The word Advent is from the Latin word adventus. It means ‘Coming’. Traditionally the significance of this time could be summed up in three ‘comings’. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Advent is a time of preparation, when we look forward firstly, to celebrating the birth of Jesus, the event that brought God’s Son to earth to live as a man. The second is that Jesus wants to come and be a part of our lives today. The third meaning of Advent is that we look forward to the second coming of Jesus, when he will return to earth not as a baby in a manger but as a King.
The period of Advent falls on the 4 Sundays before Christmas day starting on the Sunday closest to November 30th. Some of the earlier traditions for celebrating Advent, are not just festive and beautiful but have wonderful imagery behind them. Just one example is the Advent wreath and it is one way people still mark this season. The tradition began in Germany, somewhere around the 1930’s. This is a circular wreath with four candles on it. The shape of the circle is to represent God’s eternal nature and the candles are to be lit on each of the four Sundays during the Advent season while Advent prayers are said. Each candle has a different meaning: The first one represents Isaiah and other prophets in the bible that foretold the coming of Jesus. The second candle represents the bible. The third candle represents Mary, the mother of Jesus. The final one represents John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, who told the people in Israel to get ready for Jesus’ teaching.
Other ways of marking Advent include the Jesse Tree and the very familiar Advent calendar.
How will you celebrate?
When it comes down to it, how you choose to celebrate this season isn’t really the issue, but what you are celebrating is of profound importance. If you only prepare for the turkey and the gifts, sadly you may miss the point of Christmas altogether. Instead, why not use this Advent period, to not only enjoy the festivities and jollyment, but to focus on the coming of Jesus?