Secular culture hears the phrase “Advent calendar,” and what
comes to mind almost immediately are the cardboard boxes with the pictures of
Santa Claus or a winter scene with the little doors. Open a door, get a little piece of chocolate,
rinse and repeat each day until Christmas.
These commercial “Advent” calendars usually start on December 1st
and go until December 25th, with no regard for what the liturgical
season of Advent actually is.
Typical commercial “Advent” calendar
Of course, there is nothing wrong with using one of these
commercial calendars with your family, so long as there is also a focus on the
liturgical season of Advent. However, it
is my personal opinion that such calendars should be thought of as Christmas
count-downs rather than Advent calendars.
I am lucky to have and use an Advent calendar that my family
made for me when I was young. It
consists of a wooden Christmas tree with ornaments to place on it each day of
Advent. There are enough ornaments for
each day of Advent, regardless of whether it starts the last week of November,
or the first week of December. My
brother’s is a similar concept – a felt Christmas tree with felt ornaments that
one can attach to the tree with Velcro each day of Advent. Both of our calendar ornaments contain
religious symbols, as well as more secular symbols of winter.
An Advent Calendar similar to my own
An Advent Calendar similar to my brother’s
These calendars enhanced our experience of Advent growing
up, when the commercial calendars were far less prevalent, because they opened
the door for conversation about why we were celebrating during the run up to
Christmas. It gave our mother the chance
to get us ready: mind, body, and soul.
What kinds of Advent calendars do you use with your
families? How do they help you get ready
for Christmas, and “Prepare the way of the Lord”?
No comments:
Post a Comment