Day 4: What’s This All About Anyway?
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
Every year we pull down our boxes of Christmas decorations and turn our house into a plaid pillow paradise. We pull out each ornament and carefully place it on the tree. We then deliberate on which star to place on top of the tree, as there was a bit of a kerfuffle our second year of marriage and we couldn’t find the star. A quick trip to Homegoods and a replacement star was born, I mean purchased. Surprisingly the next year the original star was found and now every year we let one of the children decide whether it will be a Christmas filled with glitter raining down from the top of the tree or bells jingling at every bump or jostle of the evergreen (truly EVER-green due to its plastic composition).
Nativities are placed and Advent calendars are dusted off. And here enters my biggest failure as a parent--Advent. Every year I understand more and more why Trader Joe’s provides Advent calendars with hidden chocolate treats to be discovered behind each magical door. Otherwise we won’t open them! Just to be clear--this is not because I’m unorganized. I am the queen of lists. I love a schedule and a to-do. Sometimes I even write things I’ve already done on my to-do list just to cross them off! So why is celebrating the true meaning of Christmas a dead end for me? Why is it easier to participate in all the other Christmas activities but to neglect the one true acknowledgment of why this season exists?
According to Dictionary.com, Advent is “the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.” Synonyms: arrival, appearance, emergence. While the rest of the world is looking towards the end of the year the Christian church is looking at the beginning of salvation.
As I read Luke 2, I am amazed. There was no place for them?! Mary gave birth where? So I’m over here fluffing my ten plaid pillows in anticipation of the Savior’s arrival and Mary was delivering in the outer elements? What if this year, with fewer Christmas distractions, I were to use the loss of activities as a gain. A gain allowing me to focus on the start of a season--of a Savior’s birth--rather than the end of a year. To do this, I look to Mary. A woman who in the throws of labor was told there was no room for her. A woman who was told by God she would carry a child she wasn’t prepared for. A woman who willingly embraced a Savior in the form of a baby.
What if this year we chose to see Advent as the heart of this Christmas season rather than one extra item on the list of seasonal things to-do?
Questions:
In the past years have you recognized Advent and found ways to celebrate it with your family?
How does knowing Advent is the first season in the Christian church change your perspective of the Christmas season?
What is one Christmas activity that you will miss this year? Is there another activity you could replace it with focusing on Jesus' birth?
