The season of Advent is here; a time of preparation, waiting and expectancy.  It feels as though, not that long ago, I was putting away the Christmas decorations from last year; the CDs, the bright ornaments, the door wreath.    But we picked up the new evergreen wreath yesterday, made by S-VE FFA students, and also a lovely pink poinsettia. The time of many holiday celebrations is surely with us.

I’m a little puzzled by what seems to be jealous clutching of the Christmas holiday and the reluctance to acknowledge those December holidays that others celebrate.  Why is this?  Before our December 25^th Christmas there were other days of celebration at this time of the year; the Solstice in the northern European countries, Saturnalia in Rome, Hanukkah in Jewish homes and probably others whose names I do not know, in the far corners of the world.  To be quite candid, the Christian church pre-empted several of those pagan holidays and simply changed the names of what people were already celebrating.   So I think there is plenty of room in our lives to be glad that people are happily celebrating at all in this dark world.  It is good to wish people a Merry Christmas ---- or Happy Hanukkah --- or Joyous Solstice --- or Good Kwanzaa.    Think Love and Light!

December’s calendar, in normal times, is quite congested.  For years, I’ve written about my attempt to find time in this busy season for just quietly enjoying the beauty, the meaning and the music of Christmas.  The success of my efforts has been mixed, but this could be the year!  With no crowded events to claim my attention, there should surely be time for sitting quietly listening to The Messiah and re-reading Tales Told Under the Christmas Tree.  There should be no need for rushing about, no frenzied cookie-baking and, unfortunately,  not even the joy of friends coming to help us celebrate.  That will be the hardest pill to swallow; not asking people in.  Due to limited energy, we stopped having our 12^th-Night parties a couple of years ago.  And that was a difficult decision, for we very much enjoyed our annual galas.  But in lieu of those, we could invite just a few friends at a time for tea and goodies.  This year that might not be so wise; we’ll have to see how the virus goes.  These necessary changes in how we celebrate do not, however, appreciably change the reason for the Advent season or any of our December celebrations.  Once every year we are reminded by way of lights, music, Menorahs, banners and shining decorations, that God is very real and that we all have a spiritual center that begs to be nourished.

Deer hunters are currently seeking quite another kind of nourishment in our local fields and woods.  Hunting season isn’t a time for non-hunters to be wandering afar, looking for Princess Pine and holly.  It might be safe enough on our hill for those who hunt there are responsible and careful people.  But there’s no point in adding to the traffic.  Squirrels are scolding, blue jays and crows are squawking, deer are attempting to hide and who knows what the bobcats are doing.  That’s enough to be going on up there.  I’m not fond of venison and we don’t hunt, but shortly after our marriage, Kerm was persuaded to go hunting with some of his friends and he brought home a deer the very first day.  We hadn’t a clue how to deal with this dead creature.  Fortunately, a neighbor did know, and came over to help us turn it into usable meat.  I spent the next few months disguising that meat with marinades, sauces and seasonings.   One of our sons, however, counts on venison for his freezer, and it is a lean and healthy choice.  Too, each one he takes home decreases the numbers of creatures who will wander down to chew my hostas and azaleas or get hit on the road.

Our garden tasks are finished for this year.  We’ve protected the roses and lavender.  We’ve fenced in the shrubs that deer find most yummy.  I like crisp air, but I’m not a fan of cold for days and days, and do miss being able to sit outside and just absorb the sunshine, greenery and flowers.    Fortunately, various berries and evergreens provide a bit of color in the landscape.  Mostly now is a time to store up ideas --- and energy ---- for next year’s gardening.  My small seedlings of holly hocks, sweet William and Clary sage are looking good.  I did cut some herbs for potpourris and moth repellants.  So I can breathe in the lemon balm, the Sweet Annie, the dried marigolds and the rose petals when I’m pining for outside.   

Marking the days before Christmas is very personal to each family or individual.  There are some churches that pay little attention to the liturgical calendar and don’t emphasize Advent at all. For those who do, there are all sorts of Advent markers available.  My sister-in-law creates gingerbread edifices; last year she did an African village to honor the family’s mission participation there.  When our boys were small, we had a brief time of reflection and a story every evening during Advent.  We turned a weathered chunk of fence post into a 28-day candle-holder.  And each night we’d light a candle.  That is when we were all home together.  We got out of the habit when the boys were older and none of us were at home every night.  But it was a good thing to do for the time and place.  Now my energies go into making the Advent wreath for church.  I try to make one that stays green and safe for lit candles.  There is usually a mix of pine, boxwood, holly, pachysandra, azalea and cedar inserted into florist’s foam.  And we try to keep it moist for five weeks of candle-lighting.

Home decorating time is here too.  As our years accumulate, we seem to need less splash and glitz; some of our decorations just never make it out of the storage tubs.  The ornaments that we do use are the ones that have the most meaning for us; the Shiny Bright glass balls and teardrops that came from my childhood tree, the lovely brass Noah’s ark given by a good friend, and the hand-quilled paper snowflakes from another friend.  Freeing those items from their tissue paper storage brings delight every year.

We did notice an amusing phenomenon this year.  On one of those mellow early November days, we put the outside lights up and set their timer to be turned on every night.  It was comfortable weather for working outside and also our small rebellion against the early darkness.  The very next day, our neighbors put their lights up, and just a few days later there were more to be seen down the road.  It was as though our lights set off more and more lights --- rather like passing the candles on Christmas Eve.  We are all needing light in the darkness right now.   Soon we will be cutting greens, bringing a fresh, woodsy aroma inside.  When we set up the crèche (manger scene) we usually surround it with unobtrusive vases holding evergreens to make it look as though it is outside.  After reading about the traditions in eastern European crèches and how they add figures each year, we have done the same.  In addition to the normal shepherds, wise men, sheep, Mary, Joseph and baby, we’ve found a little girl carrying a water jug, a llama, an elephant, several more angels and there is even a tiny skunk curled up with a kitten by the manger.   Simple pleasures!

We might even hang mistletoe this year after learning about an ancient Scandinavian belief and perhaps you too will dash out for some.  They say that if enemies meet beneath a tree with mistletoe clinging to it, they will lay down their arms and not fight that day.  I think maybe we should decorate with mistletoe from sea to shining sea and around the world.  Of course we do need to be careful with it in the house if there are children or pets; I believe those berries are toxic.

For some this is a difficult season.  It can trigger depression, grief and a sense of despair from past trauma or current troubles.  Seeing the sparkle and glitz of the world around only emphasizes one’s own sadness.  In these circumstances it may be most useful to pull a bit apart from what the world is doing.  Choose books and music that speak to the heart and remind us of why we have Christmas at all.  And find time to be outside in the fresh air; a good walk does wonders from the feet to inside the head.  Breathe in and breathe out and be assured that better times will come.

We have three weeks to enjoy preparation before the 25th and hopefully those weeks will be a good time for us all.   Perhaps this old poem by Edgar Allen Poe* will be a good intro for the season:  “Hear the sledges with the bells ---- Silver Bells!  What a world of merriment their melody foretells!  How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, in the icy air of night!  While the stars that oversprinkle all the heavens, seem to twinkle with crystalline delight; keeping time, time, time in a sort of Runic rhyme, To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells from the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells --- from the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.”  I think Edgar Poe had a very good time putting this poem together!  It must have been a welcome relief from the creepy stories he was publishing.   Happy times in December!

Carol may be reached at: carol42wilde@htva.net.

*Edgar Allen Poe ---The adopted son (when his parents died) of a wealthy Richmond merchant, John Allen.  Edgar Allen Poe was an American author, poet, literary critic best known for his slightly eerie genre.  1809-1849.