"Haul out the Holly"

I've become aware, recently, that the celebration of ADVENT has changed, drastically?  According to the dictionary the word advent, is defined as "the coming of" or "the arrival of". Think of "the advent of Spring". For Christians, the season of Advent begins four Sundays, before the 25th of December, and ends on Christmas Day. Advent Calendars, in some homes (particularly those with small children) mark the passing of the 25 or so days before the coming of the Christ Child. I used to buy one for my kids and each day was a tiny, calendar sized picture of something particular to the Holiday about to be celebrated. The kids would open one little door each day and see or read something having to do with Christmas.

Do you know what types of Advent Calendars are being offered to folks today???? Here are a few: The Whiskey Advent Calendar, The Gem Stone  Advent Calendar, the Magic Tricks Calendar and the Fishing Lures Calendar. There are Advent Calendars that depict popular movies, like "Frozen", "Harry Potter" and  "Wicked". The National Parks Advent Calendar even offers a 2 for 1, where you get a puzzle and a calendar, combined. There is even a Murder Mystery Advent Calendar.

I don't normally care about what kind of calendar folks display. (Well, now that I think about it, I once quit a job because my boss kept asking me in to his office.... that prominently displayed several calendars of naked women.) But, my over active mind keeps thinking about what would be behind the doors of the Murder Mystery Calendar, and how does that depict the Advent of anything? Okay....maybe there are 25 clues or individual murders and then a gigantic mass murder, on the 25th? Gruesome.

What's going on here? Or how about the WWII Aircraft Calendar? Do the planes depict a Baby Jesus in the cockpit, on the 25th? Bombs away, Jesus. And, does the "Star Wars" Advent Calendar, have the Millennium Falcon arriving at the stable on Christmas Morning? 

 

I think I should possibly just "Let It Go", and celebrate Advent, in my traditional way.

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 We will celebrate Advent, Lord. You are our Strength and Refuge.