Advent

Today is the first Sunday in Advent.  It’s a Christian tradition, and though I don’t remember that my family was particularly religious (we didn’t go to church regularly) as I was growing up, we did keep Advent to some extent.  My mother made (or bought) and Advent wreath and lit an additional candle each Sunday until all four burned brightly.  I had an Advent calendar (not with chocolate in it) and opened a window each day of December until the 24^th was reached.  I haven’t kept the tradition of the wreath, but I buy an Advent calendar when I can find one, and last year I started my grandson on the tradition. Though this year, he decided he wanted to open all the windows at once.

I know that many Christmas traditions were taken over from so called pagan festivals.  The Romans had their December Festival of Saturnalia.  Scandinavians (and other cultures) had Festivals of Light. The Germanic people had wreaths and other winter traditions.

So I’m not sure if my mother was following a religious or family and historical tradition.

Apparently Saturnalia was originally instituted to raise the morale of citizens after a military defeat. It eventually grew to a week-long event, with drinking, giving presents, feasting, and visiting friends. Sound familiar?  A couple of different emperors apparently tried to cut the festival down to 3 or 5 days but the uproar from the citizens was so great, they couldn’t do it.

Anyway, back to Advent. For Christians, it’s the time to celebrate and anticipate the birth of Jesus (which historically can’t be pinpointed).  There is a lot of symbolism involved. The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying eternal life. In Catholic tradition three of the candles are purple, one is rose. In some European countries the candles are all white – and that’s what I remember from my mother.  There are prayers, too that go with the lighting of the candles, but I don’t remember us saying any.

So, in the modern world, many of us choose our rituals for Christmas, whether they be Christian, secular or from some other faith.  It will be interesting to see what my grandson chooses to carry on as his traditions and rituals as he grows up.