Greens and reds. Parties. Lights. Parades. We are celebrating Christmas. But it’s also Advent.
For many years, I fretted. It disturbed me that the world started celebrating Christmas as soon as Halloween decorations came down. If folks are caught up in Christmas joy, then they can miss the profound worship and devotional experiences of Advent, the ancient four-week observance which prepares us for the birth of the savior.
The Latin word advent means coming, not arrival. Advent prepares us for the coming of the Christ Child. For the Church anyway, Christmas comes only after a season when we remind ourselves of why Christ had to come. And those weeks can create in us a deep longing for the arrival, which is yet to be, that final day for which creation yearns.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appears. *
However, I have mellowed. I have learned to observe the two seasons, the Holidays and Advent, simultaneously and in equal regard. They are profoundly different, but there is much to be experienced in each. They just come on top of each other!
May your holidays be bright and joyful. And may your observance of Advent ring bells of hope in your heart. For the Lord has not finished with this world. Not at all.
*According to Hymnary.org the ancient chant “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” has appeared in 491 hymnals.