I’ve always wondered about the connection between the color purple being the Church color for both Advent and Lent.  The two seasons seem like complete opposites to me, Advent being a time of joyful anticipation and Lent being a sorrowful, sacrificial time.

I found my answer in a lovely old book published in 1956, The Year and our Children: Planning the Family Activities for Christian Feasts and Seasons by Mary Reed Newland.  She explains the symbolism of the Advent Wreath and gives lots of ideas for families to celebrate not only Advent, but everything in the Church year you can imagine.  I’ve referenced her once this year already, when I talked about the history of Halloween.

This week I’ll use Newland’s book as my guide to walk through the symbolism and purpose of Advent, reflect on the Immaculate Conception and the giving of gifts, and introduce you to (or remind you of) St. Lucia, whose feast day we’ll celebrate next weekend.

Here is an excerpt from the foreword in which the author addresses the issue of finding time to incorporate Church year celebrations, crafts and food:

“Where do you find the time?  …We can find it if we plan for it.  We can find it quite easily by looking to see where we waste it.  Not wasting it is not easy, because the habits of time-wasting, although they are harmless, are hard to break – as I know from experience.  It involves such things as the radio habit, coffee breaks, cigarette breaks, long telephone conversations, chatting with neighbors, a heavy involvement in outside activities.

Somewhere most American women can “find time” to devote to the enriching of their families’ spiritual life.  The joyous discovery is that once we have struggled and found the time, tasted and seen how sweet are these pursuits together, we begin to gauge all our doings so that there will be time – because we are convinced there must be.”

Well.  If that doesn’t make you want to stick around to read more this week, I don’t know what will!

I hope you are inspired by the second section and duly in awe of the first.  How much things have changed, yet how much they remain the same!  Did anyone else guffaw when the read “radio habit?”  I love it!  But couldn’t we insert “Internet” for “radio” and be in the same place?  Chatting on Twitter instead of chatting with neighbors, for better or for worse.

Are you participating in the time warp of the Internet right now?  Is this your time-wasting habit?

Get up and prepare yourself for Advent!

Your nugget for today:  Advent means “coming” or “coming toward”.  It has the same roots as the word “arrival”.  It is our time to prepare for the “coming” or “arrival” of the King!

How will you prepare this Advent?

Find all the Advent Daily Dose reflections here.

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