ADVENT 101
So here we are in the Advent season. It means better sales at the mall, a long Christmas to-do list, and time for pictures with Santa, right? Actually, Advent means coming... as in the coming of Christ.
Advent began around the 6th century, and as celebrations of Christmas grew, so did the development of Advent--the four Sundays before Christmas as a time of preparing. At one time, this meant preparing through praying and fasting. Now it seems it means preparing by feasting and shopping.
I saw an ad the other day that claimed that by buying the advertised product we could spend more time rediscovering the "true meaning of Christmas"--spending time with loved ones in a happy, cozy setting. Time with family is wonderful as are many of the other Christmas traditions. But we're fooling ourselves if those are what we think of as the true meaning of Christmas.
And as we lose our understanding of Christmas, we lose our understanding of Advent. We lose the anticipation of celebrating the past--that God took on the form of a human in Jesus--and the anticipation of Christ coming again.
May we all re-discover the true meaning of Christmas this Advent season!
