A Time of Preparation
Driving to work a couple of weeks ago, listening to the National Programme on the radio, as I often do, the discussion was about when people put up their Christmas Tree and decorations? One person said they begin in August! Others start in early October or early November. The reason was the love of Christmas and all that it means to them, with decorating being a significant part of the joy.
For some, the thought of decorating brings more of a “bah, humbug”, can’t be bothered feeling. We are all different and life looks different for each of us.
However, one person mentioned that for them, they put up their tree and decorations in the last weekend in November as that is the beginning of Advent, and take down the tree on 6th January, denoting, for them the end of the Christmas Season. Ingrid Hipkiss, the host alongside Coran Dann, admitted that she is a bit of a grinch when it comes to Christmas Decorations, but this idea clicked for her. She liked the clear timeframe and felt she could work with that.
Isn’t it amazing how sometimes, something simply, makes sense? Some of us would say it is the truth, it sits right with us. That resonated with me.
This is the season of Advent – perhaps just a word, a faint memory for some. The Oxford English Dictionary summarises Advent as the arrival or coming of a notable person, thing, or event. In Christian use, it refers to the season leading up to Christmas, beginning four Sundays before Christmas Day.
Whether we realise it or not, we all experience Advent as we prepare for Christmas. In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, make lists, preparing our homes either with decorating or much more if we are expecting guests or hosting. Gardens, lawns, outside furniture and inside tasks needing attention. Shopping for gifts and food – it is a season of practical preparation.
It is also a season where we take time to prepare the inside - our hearts and minds. A time to pause, reflect and take stock. What is the condition of our heart at present? How are our relationships? Is there someone we need to forgive, including ourselves? Someone we need to thank or remember? An apology we have been struggling to offer?
May this Advent season be a time of gentle preparation of heart, mind, home and hearth as we prepare for a very special Christmas season.
