The word “Advent” comes from the Latin: adventus, meaning arrival. In the Christian calendar, Advent is a season of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Christ Child. Secular society has snagged the idea of an Advent calendar, with chocolates, Lego Star Wars and even gin featured in some of this year’s offerings.
As I’ve written before, this is a sacred season for me for many reasons. The dark time is here, and so much of the music, practices and stories of the Western Hemisphere resonate deeply within me. Hunt and I celebrate Solstice, but also Christmas, New Year’s, Twelfth Night. So here are some of the things I’ve done, or like to do, for the first ten days of December. I’ll share more ideas for the next two weeks in a coming blog post.
It starts with Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully before the ground freezes. I go into our woods and gather moss for our moss garden. I like to find several varieties, as well as partridgeberry or wintergreen for some color.
First Sunday in Advent (count four Sundays before Christmas): I get out the Advent candle ring and place it on a platter, and make the moss garden. I add crystals, shells, special rocks and a few figurines. Yes, that is a polar bear, because why not? The first candle is lit at suppertime.
November 30: Get out the album of holiday music. I have over 40 cds, of every type of music, ordered in such a way that the music eases into the season.
December 1: The very first recording is always George Winston’s December album. Now I know the season has begun. The wreath that was purchased from a local daycare center goes on the door.
December 2: Plan out the homemade gifts, especially those that need to be mailed. We keep gift-giving extremely simple. Last year everyone received a jar of homemade mustard, and a select few got a jar of homemade hand cream. Neighbors and friends get a plate of cookies.
This year I also attended a rehearsal that was also the birthday party for one of the singers.
December 3: I got out a small handmade wooden village scene- trees, a few deer, a house and an outhouse. These go into a front window.
December 4: Mail the Saint Nicholas gift to our daughter! She is now teaching first grade at a Waldorf school, and has her own celebrations there, but Saint Nicholas still comes to her every year.
December 5: Baking, baking, sweeping, preparing for the open house at the violin shop. And this year, a seasonal choral concert in the evening.
December 6: Saint Nicholas Day.
I like him because he helped the poor and oppressed. Hunt always finds something in his shoes when he gets up on this morning! This year was also the date for the violin shop open house, so we had good friends, good food and music as well.
This was also the second Sunday in Advent, so a second candle was lit on the moss garden/Advent wreath.
December 7: Time to order the Christmas cards! We like to have a photo of the two of us, and usually a favorite quote from a carol. My favorite: “Let nothing you dismay”.
December 8: Rummage through the Christmas box – in goes my hand, and out comes a Wallace Tripp angel mouse, which is now hanging from a rafter in the kitchen.
December 9: We only mail a few packages, but they’d better go out today or tomorrow. Wrap, pack, address. And still the daily seasonal music carries us along. Another rehearsal tonight.
December 10: Any gifts for my family that need to be ordered get ordered by today. The seasonal books get placed on the coffee table. A single electric candle gets placed in the window that holds the wooden village.
The first ten days feel like gentle preparation. The stress is minimal, and everything can be accomplished around the regular work of the day. And over and around and through it runs the music. Up to now it is subdued, often baroque or early music. Soon, though, the more traditional carols will start to play, the house will look (and smell!) more Christmassy.
Thanks for sharing this. Looking forward to more!
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