First Day of Advent

Just had a telephone call and the person greeted me with the information that today, "Is the first day of Advent!" Asking how they worked that out I was told that they'd just had their first piece of chocolate from their advent calendar!

Considering that Advent started on Sunday and that Advent is one of the Church's 'purple patches', that is a time of self-examination and preparation as we look to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Christ, God made man (incarnate) and look expectantly towards His second coming (It's OK Harold, we can do it ourselves) it seems just a little sad that here we are engaging with it by eating chocolate and making Sant the reason for the season. Odder still is the fact that when we do the other purple patch (Lent) everyone rushes up to proudly tell me that it a 'no chocolate' time.

Advent is such a special time and yet so many of us now generally ignore it. One church I know of did their first Christmas Carol service on Monday night and more than a few have their trees and other decorations up. The problem is that they don't do Epiphany either and merely lump it all into 'Christmas'

Happy Adventide people - it started last Sunday ;)

Pax