Posted on 12/01/2024 4:02:26 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
If I had to offer one piece of advice to Catholics, it’s getting Advent right. Advent is a time of preparation, not a time of anticipation.
The problem with the “anticipation” approach is that December 25–Christmas–ends the holiday rather than begins it. All the important “holiday stuff” is stuffed into the first 24 days of December. Even “Christmas movies” (except on the Hallmark Channel) peter off during the week between Christmas and New Year. And whatever “holiday” spirit might still be coasting on celebratory gases can count on extinguishment by about 4 am January 1.
This is not the Catholic approach to Christmas.
For Catholics, December 25 is the start of the season, not the end of it.
It’s why, every year, I rail against people buying Christmas trees early and then throwing them out early. One of the apartments in my building has had a Christmas tree in its window since November 8. And, as I said, Christmas tree divestiture can begin as early as December 26 and almost certainly in the first few days of January. Some communities even set their Christmas tree pickups before January 6. Against that backdrop, I’m at the opposite extreme, clinging to the old tradition of keeping the tree up until Candlemas, February 2.
But it’s not really about trees. Celebrating without preparation is stunted. It loses half its meaning. Think back to your youth when you went out on a date. Half the pleasure was in getting ready for the “big event.”
The purpose of Advent is to “get ready.” The four weeks of Advent symbolically point to God getting mankind ready through the Old Testament for the advent of His Son. The fact that humans had to “get ready” meant there were things that stood in the way of that readiness.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicworldreport.com ...
Wow, what a way to take all the joy out of Christmas.
Make a chore out of it.
Church of Rome should be more concerned about getting the gospel right.
I’ve heard of Advent but don’t know what it is. Will look it up.
Yeah, getting one’s life “right with God” is such a chore. /s
Or you could be biblical and not do it.
“Or you could be biblical and not do it.”
I think you’re right. Never did anything “Advent” in our Baptist churches — don’t even know what it is.
We’ve been attending a Presbyterian church for a few months and they talk about Advent. Lit some candles this morning ... what’s up with that?
This isn’t about getting one’s life right with God.
It’s about preparing for Christmas, which should be a season of great joy. Angels sang at His birth.
And Catholics want to make it a serious, ritualistic, legalistic, joy killing ordeal.
Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
LoL maybe the article came off that way, but I think the best kind of advent prep is reverential, beautiful, ancient — lots of candles and choral tunes like ‘O Come Emmanuel’ — and not hyper-commercialized.
And that Christmas feasting should extend to the Magi arrival in January 6-7ish. (Which is when the Orthodox Christians celebrate their Christmas.) So that the “12 Days of Christmas” song can actually be lived out! :)
My main Christmas prep is listening to all the traditional Christmas carols. They really set the mood.
I think the heart of the matter can be summed up in the song “12 days of Christmas” ... that is hearkening back to the days of Christendom when Christmas Day marked the start, not end to the Christmas feast...and everything leading up to was candlelit, reverential, preparation for the quiet yet momentous arrival wintry arrival of our Messiah :)! The hymn “O Come Emmanuel” is the most well-known Advent hymn.
12 days of Christmas ending on January 5th (aka like the Shakespeare play “Twelfth Night!”) which coincides with the arrival of Three Wisemen of the Magi.
(It’s tradition. Jesus may have actually been born in the summer.)
Orthodox Christians of Eastern Europe/Russia, and Middle East have GORGEOUS music and traditions also. They celebrate their Christmas January 6/7th.
The carols will be a lot more joyous this year for sure given the Election Results. I’d prefer NOT to live inside a King Herod deep state re-enactment. PHEW!
How did you get this: “And Catholics want to make it a serious, ritualistic, legalistic, joy killing ordeal,” out of the idea that Advent should be a preparation for a period of Christmas?
It’s most likely that the Wise Men didn’t arrive until Jesus was about 2 years old. The nativity scenes they do in churches aren’t really accurate with the Wise Men in attendance.
The Scriptures say “The wise men came to the HOUSE where the CHILD was with his mother Mary.”
The trip would’ve taken about 2 years.
I didn't know that! Fascinating!
And didn't Jesus spend some of his childhood in Egypt?
bookmark
I read the article and noted the source.
Besides, I remember my days as a Catholic.
It’s hard to have joy in any situation when your whole focus is on doing it *right*. Whatever *right* is.
And since it’s all traditions of men, there’s no point at all about obsessing about preparing for Christmas by doing Advent (a manmade season) *right*.
When God establishes something, yes, you can have a right way to do it. With man. Not so much. It’s all opinion and preference about what someone thinks pleases God.
Considering that Herod had all the male children under 2 years of age in that region killed, that kind of sets the time frame for when the wise men found Jesus.
Allowing for time lapse, chances are the wise men found Him when He was about a year old. It took time for them to travel and no doubt for Herod to realize they had tricked him, so I’m guessing his order to make it age 2 was to give some margin of error, be sure that they didn’t miss Him.
That makes sense, too. Probably Herod knew that the round-trip would be about two years, so when he figured out that the guys had blown him off, he came up with the two-year time frame.
Also, why THREE Wise Men? The Bible says “men”, plural. There could’ve been two. There could’ve been 200.
And who made up the names of the (alleged three) Wise Men? There are no names given.
When we had Christmas pageants at church growing up, Dad never included Wise Men in the nativity scenes.
“And didn’t Jesus spend some of his childhood in Egypt?”
When a baby, IIRC. When he was being hidden from Herod.
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