Soooo, it's been almost a month since I've posted on here. There have been various things going on in my life, concerning my career, my family life, and getting ready for Christmas, that I could have written about, however, I had hoped to not make this into a journal, and yet, because of its total lack of purpose, this blog tends to house a lot of personal (and probably boring) thoughts about my life in general. So in an effort to get away from that, I haven't written anything as it would have been me meandering through my days and nights and putting everyone (if anyone reads this) to sleep.. ;)

Anyway, so without further ado, I thought I'd write about Advent. Up until now, I'd been shying away from anything that seemed Christian in origin because of my deep distrust of organized religions, however, I'm finding more and more that there is a lot to be said for learning to appreciate a more structured approach to spirituality and life, without closing the door on nature-based spirituality, and without having to fully embrace the literal 'renditions' of the Bible.. December is such a wonderfully spiritual time of year too, that I want to embrace all parts of it, and not shut anything out. I'm actually going to miss not going to midnight mass this year, as I did last year with my Mom and my sister. We used to do it every year when I was a child, and then my 'departure' from all things 'Churchey' made it so I had about 7 or 8 xmases where we didn't go to an evening mass, but stayed home and gorged ourselves on food and drink... I always missed lighting those tiny white candles and singing Silent Night, followed by the family piling into the car to drive around the town, looking for the house with the most lights on it.. :)

So this year, though I'm starting late, I hope to acknowledge what is left of both the Pagan and Christian Advent calendar... To summarize what Waverly Fitzgerald explains on her school of the seasons site, Pagan Advent begins four Sundays before Winter Solstice, and is a period of waiting for the 'birth of the sun'. Christian Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and is a similar period of waiting, for the birth of the 'Son'...

From her site:
The period of Advent, which means “to come,” is the period of waiting for the birth of Christ at Christmas, or for the birth of the sun at Winter Solstice. It is a period of anticipation, of looking forward.The main quality of Advent is waiting. If it were a tarot card, it would be the Seven of Pentacles. At this time we are unable to do anything but wait through the growing darkness until we can celebrate the return of the Light. Most Advent customs have to do with marking time: lighting one candle on the Advent wreath each week, opening another door on the Advent calendar. These markers show us in a concrete way how much time has passed and how much time is left before the event we so joyously anticipate.

According to her, one way to celebrate Advent might entail lighting of candles (for Pagans, on an Advent wreath), to mark each Sunday that passes, followed by a time of story-telling and caroling. Story-telling has been passed down through the ages as a way to pass the time in the dark months, while sharing important lessons and bits of history with those close to you. Obviously, during the days when the sun was the only light you had to go by outside, you would find yourself inside together for longer periods, waiting out the darkness. I think I read somewhere as well that the Celts were not even allowed to tell a story until after sundown, and that it was the elders who told the stories, but I might be dreaming that!
Advent calendars are another popular way to pass the time, and range from the little cardboard ones with tiny little chocolates in them that we buy at the dollar store ;) , to more elaborate home-made ones (created by people who are either uber organizers or have WAY too much time on their hands!) that open to reveal inspiring pictures, or ornaments to put on the tree (I liked that idea)... The nativity scene is also used by some people to mark the time, each figurine added around the stable marking another passing day until the Christ child is added to the manger on the 25th. As she says, if you don't find 'Christ' fits with your spirituality, creating any sort of calendar or 'shrine' to the sun would work, even creating 13 ornaments representing the birth of the sun (spirals, mirrors, etc) to hang on your tree.

To make an advent wreath: http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/wreathmaking.html

Another sort of neat thing she suggested was this site: http://www.lynnjericho.com/newsletter1107.html that will send you a special thought to reflect upon over the 12 days of 'Inner Christmas'. The strange thing is it starts December 25 and goes until January 6th. Interestingly enough, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the most ancient Christian communities, celebrates Christmas on January 6th. You can enter your email address and you'll receive a thought or question each day during that time, for you to meditate on, in order to inspire a sense of 'deep joy' and sense of purpose in the coming year. Why not, right? ;) I want to work on my meditation skills anyway, as it is rumoured to be a miracle healer for stress, worry, doubt, and general mind-clutter that we all suffer from.

I'm still not sure what I will do this year to mark the days of Advent, as I'm feeling slightly scatterbrained and find it difficult to focus on one particular thing long enough to get anything out of it... One neat site I found, which is entirely Christian based, gives you a daily thought, prayer and passage to reflect on each day throughout Advent. http://www.followingthestar.org/

Here's another that explains some of the traditions in different cultures: http://heaintthroughwithmeyet.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/the-advent-wreath-and-why-i-have-one/

No matter which way you choose to celebrate Advent, I wish you all a very happy holiday season - and I hope you find some time to enjoy the peaceful indulgence of waiting! :)

S