Christmas Countdown

I am a true believer that the holiday tunes should not be played before we celebrate the pilgrims' day. Today is Dec 1st, the turkey leftovers have been eaten, and I give myself the ok to start preparing for Christmas.

In the Catholic tradition the time right now is Advent, the time to anticipate, wait, and prepare for the arrival of Jesus. Our churches are not decorated in the red and green of Christmas, but instead the purple and pink of the advent wreath. The trees do not go up until after the last advent candle is lit and it is Christmas Eve. That is the day our Christmas starts, and is a tradition that I really enjoy.

I like to bring that same feeling of anticipation to my own home and family. So in order to not rush the season, on December 1st every year I haul out the green rubbermaid bins from the attic, and choose one decoration to put out that day. On December 2nd I choose another, and continue putting out one decoration each day until Christmas. By the 25th my home is filled with Christmas cheer.

The kids have enjoyed the tradition. Not necessarily in the spirit of Christmas, it has become a competition for them to search out the adornment that had gone up that day. So today I have to be honest, on the way to pick up from school I realized I forgot to put something out (typical), so I grabbed a decoration on the shelf in the basement that I forgot to put away last year. I started the season with this little snowman that Delaney created back in preschool and we are officially on our way to Christmas.

Maybe I'll share our Christmas progression on the blog, or maybe that would be boring. For now Happy Advent, and what every your tradition, don't rush, but instead slow down, grab a bit of celebration daily, and enjoy the season.