Because
Christmas has become the most important holiday of all in the
traditionally-Christian countries, Advent has become a preparation not just
for the Christ child but also for everything else that happens Christmas
day.
Advent Calendar
One of the most widely celebrated advent traditions is the advent calendar.
The Advent Calendar finds its origins in the 19th Century from the
protestant area of Germany. Protestant Christian families made a chalk line
for every day in December until Christmas Eve. Before long, commercial
entrepreneurs started replacing the ephemeral chalk lines with printed
calendars. The first known Advent Calendar is for the advent of 1851. The
first printed speciem after the war were printed by Richard Sellmer in 1946.
Advent calendars continue to be printed to this day.
Advent calendars are colorful pieces of cardboard on which is depicted a
many-windowed house. Behind the shutters of each house is a picture or
symbol that points to the coming of Christmas. Beginning December 1, the
children are allowed to open the shutters of one window per day. Finally, on
December 24, the front door of the house is opened, showing the nativity.
Advent Wreath
The symbolism of the Advent wreath is simple but effective. The wreath, with
its crown-like character, reminds us of the King, while its circular shape
betokens the "fulfillment of time" that both Comings bring about. The
candles, on the other hand, represent the prophets whose inspired words
pierced the darkness under which mankind groaned while waiting for the
Messiah; they also represent the elects' hearts burning for Christ.A simple
wreath made of evergreen (yew or fir or laurel) is adorned with four candles
equidistant from each other. These candles may be of any color: in some
European countries they are all white, though in the U.S. they generally
correspond to the liturgical colors of the four Sundays of Advent (three
purple and one pink or rose).
In a dark room, a purple candle is lit on the First Sunday of Advent,
another on the Second, the rose candle on the Third Sunday (in commemoration
of Gaudete Sunday), and the last purple candle on the Fourth Sunday. Thus,
all four candles will be lit for the week before Christmas. Catholic
families simply pray together for a holy preparation and a holy Christmas,
concluding with a traditional Advent hymn.
In some homes, 24 candles are kept, one for each night from December 1
through Christmas eve. One candle is lit for a while on December 1, then a
new candle is added each day for the 24 day period. However, for those homes
using the candles, it was far more common to have four candles for the four
weeks before Christmas. On candle was lit the first week, two the second
week and so on. The candles were often place on a wreath upon the dining
room table.
Lucy Lights
The customs surrounding the Feast of St. Lucy (December 13) also illuminate
the themes of Advent and Christmas. Lucy, whose name means light and whose
association with light has made her the patron saint of the "light of the
body" (the eyes), once had her feast fall on the shortest day of the year.
For all of these reasons, St. Lucy is honored with a number of customs
involving fire. Lucy candles were once lit in the home and Lucy fires burned
outside. In Sweden and Norway a girl dressed in white and wearing an
evergreen wreath on her head with lit candles would awaken the family and
offer them coffee and cakes. She was called the Lussibrud (Lucy bride) and
her pastry the Lussekattoz. The Feast of St. Lucy comes at a propitious time
during the observance of Advent. Reminding us of the importance of light,
the light of St. Lucy foreshadows the coming of the Light of the World on
December 25 like a spark foreshadows the sun.
Barbara Branches
St. Barbara, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, is the patron saint of
artillerymen, miners, and a happy death. Though her feast on December 4
obviously belongs to the cycle of saints and not to the temporal cycle of
Advent, there is a custom observed in her honor that ties into the meaning
of the Advent season. A Barbara branch is the name given to a twig that is
broken from a fruit tree (especially cherry), placed in a bowl of water, and
kept in a warm, well-lit part of the house, such as the kitchen. According
to legend, if the Barbara branch blooms on or before Christmas Day, good
luck will come to the person whose branch it is. Aside from this harmless
superstition, Barbara branches are reminiscent of the image from Isaiah of
Christ as a Flower from the root of Jesse (Is. 11.2; the Epistle for Advent
Ember Friday); they can thus be instructive in teaching children the meaning
of Advent and Christmas. They are also used as the Saint's tribute to the
Christ Child in the manger, lovingly placed in the crèche when they have
blossomed.
The Crèche
A crèche is set up with an empty manger. Each day of Advent children are
allowed to place a wisp of straw in the manger for each good deed done that
day. Thus the Christ Child, when He comes on Christmas Day, will find a soft
bed of straw to protect Him from the hard boards of the manger. This simple
custom teaches children that the acquisition of virtue is the best way to
prepare for the Lord's coming.
Saint Nicholas,
Santa Claus, and the Angels
As is well-known, "Santa Claus" comes from the Dutch rendering of Saint
Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop famous for giving gifts anonymously to
children and the needy. The various legends surrounding Santa Claus actually
come from the god of Norse and Germanic mythology, Thor. Thor was portrayed
as a large, jovial old man with a long white beard whose symbolic color was
red (owing to his association with fire). Thunder was said to have been
caused by the rolling of his chariot drawn by two white goats across the
clouds, and his home was said to have been "Northland," somewhere among the
icebergs. The fireplace was also considered sacred to Thor because it was
through it that he came into his element, the fire.
We owe this odd metamorphosis of a Christian saint into a pagan god to New
York City. When the Dutch founded the city in the seventeenth century, they
observed the Catholic custom of "Saint Nicholas' visit" on the saint's feast
day (December 5). The older Christian custom is that on the night of
December 5 (the vigil of Saint Nicholas Day), children write notes addressed
to the Child Jesus and put them on their window sill, whence St. Nicholas
carries them to heaven. A variation of this custom, prevalent in South
America, is to write notes sometime between December 16 to 24 and to put
them in front of the crib, from which point Angels carry the requests to
heaven. The older customs explicitly tie the reception of gifts to the
advent of Christ and portray the other figures (Nicholas or the angels) as
His assistants. There was also a charming custom of "St. Nicholas" (a man
dressed as a bishop) bringing gifts to children in person on his feast day.
