Every year, I seem to fight a losing battle with the culture, my kids, and myself in an attempt to observe Advent properly. Too often, what’s meant to be a time of waiting and preparing for Christmas turns into a premature celebration of Christmas—complete with parties, presents, Santa, and Rudolph.
I hate to be the grinch that says no to parties, so I try to keep a positive focus through Advent. One way to do that is through music, I have found. Advent has a music all its own, if you know where to look for it.
I like this version of O Come, O Come Emmannuel by Enya, for example. If you prefer a more classical version, this one is very nice.
What kind of music do you like to listen to during Advent? Do you have a Pandora station to share? If I can get enough links and recommendations here, I will put together a list that might be a helpful resource to other Catholics who want to keep the quiet and stillness of Advent this season, in the midst of the typical December busy-ness and noise.
Secular “Christmas” music is fine through Advent, but the REAL Christmas music can wait until the 25th. Either way, personally I would prefer both kinds year around if I could get away with it.
I have seen people buying a real Christmas tree the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Like that tree is going to stay healthy for 30 plus days. Way too early.
I grew up with a fake silver tree for many years until “Santa” put the real tree up Christmas Eve. To the end, my parents never put the presents under the tree until Christmas Eve because I was always a “poky Alice”.
I now keep a little silver decorated tree up year round, and whatever I buy throughout the year is wrapped in Christmas paper until it’s time to open them up one by one.
I was blest to be raised in a household were my parents (to an extent) and my grandparents DEFINITELY kept the differences between the two seasons.
There are definite differences in the decorations, and even in the foods and “goodies” served for gatherings.
I lived in Germany for almost 10 years in the 1990s, according to many, the season of Advent was ruined by the commercialization that the Americans (part of the NATO forces) brought along with them.
There were in the “women’s magazines” (their versions of Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, etc…) the ADVENTZEIT (Advent-time) issues and THEN the Christmas-time issues a few weeks later.
I’m rather surprised that the Media does not JUMP on-board, trying to bring Advent to a commercial hype, as they have dome to Easter and Halloween.
The different church comments were interesting. I grew up in a parish that didn’t decorate until after the last 4th Sunday of Advent mass. Now I am fortunate to belong to a parish that tries to stick to the old world custom of celebrating Christmas from Dec 24 to February 2, Candlemas day. The place is decorated to the rafters but decorating won’t start until the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Advent and will continue until almost the 24th of December. It takes that long to get it all done and that’s with people working a minimum of 5 weeknights from 6pm to at least 9pm and sometimes later. The statues for the manger scene will be carried in a procession and placed just before Midnight mass. The Three Kings are on the opposite side of the church and are not moved to the stable until Epiphany.
Maggie, excellent points. Thank you for expounding on that, and changing my mind. Happy Advent to you, and all who have posted such great ideas here in the comments on this article!
Not setting up the manger scene in the Church until Christmas is a fairly new development. My whole childhood the manger scene was up all through advent, but without the baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas. It was a wonderful practice because kids ask questions and learn their faith and love seeing the figures. Sure we want to resist the commercialization of Christmas as much as possible but we shouldn’t be afraid to decorate our homes and with Christian expressions of Christ’s coming. The ornaments you choose to put on your tree could all be religious and would be bringing the kids closer to Christ as they decorate and ask questions or explain to younger siblings. Christmas music may speak of his arrival, but it also brings our heart toward Him. Anything that is drawing us to Him is a wonderful blessing. Don’t be part of the error that makes what is good into something bad. The world is so secularized that any chance to bring the faith into our home or workplace or world should be welcome.
It is happy even though it is a time of sacrifice. Unlike Lent, which has us focus on God’s sacrifice through the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, Advent is the joyful anticipation of our Savior’s coming to be with us. We wait with excitement, joy and sacrifice as we prepare a stable within our hearts for Christ to dwell. We have to be as Simeon and Anna who awaited Christ’s birth with selfsacrifice and prayer, but most of all with hope in the Lord. So that is why I wish people Happy Advent. It’s not a gloomy time of sacrifice but a joyous one of sacrifice out of thanksgiving.
Thanks Danielle! I am thoroughly enjoying Advent this year and we’re only three days in! We have our Advent wreath all set up (on time this year!) and light it every night during dinner. We put an electric candle in all of the bedroom windows and turn them on every night at dusk while everyone says together, “come, Jesus, come”. I even taught myself over the last few weeks how to read some basic sheet music for the piano ( I am not really that musically inclined) all so I can play O Come, O Come Emmanuel on my daughters tiny piano with two octaves on it! I played tonight (with the right hand only!) and we sang…I’m not quite sure anyone else would have thought it was beautiful but it was beautiful to me and we sure had fun doing it. We will get our tree, put up our house lights and do all of our baking during the third, joyful week, in anticipation of the birth…Yeah for Advent!
My sister sent this to me. It is just awesome. Hope you all check it out. http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9EM29CNU
I readily admit I’ve never understood the pressure to make everything wait until Christmas Eve. For my family, we like to create an attitude of preparing for Christmas just as Mary prepared for Jesus’ arrival centuries ago. Surely, she did not wait until his arrival in the manger to have some clothes prepared and waiting; those same clothes probably traveling with her to Bethlehem. I know myself the urge and need to ‘nest’ before the arrival of each of my children’s births. There was a restlessness in my very soul as I awaited their arrival and a need to make sure all was ready. But there was also a pensiveness as I prayed to be a good mother to this new soul.
Advent is the same in our house - we slowly decorate a bit at a time, knowing the baby is coming. We look at decorating the tree (on ‘pink’ Sunday), as making the house lovely for the best guest ever. We know He is coming, so making our home look its best for his arrival is not seen as bowing to commercialism but rather an outward sign of our inward excitement for his arrival. Just as I cleaned the house and readied our home for the arrival of each of our children, we do the same for Baby Jesus. Wonderful music is just a bonus to the efforts!
Love this O Come Emmanuel. Great voice and the art that goes with is awesome!
Many people feel the way you do. We were, during our children’s childhood and still are, quite determined to be anti-cultural during advent.
The first year we lived in our home where we spent most of the years rearing our family, the neighborhood children came in after Thanksgiving and looked around and asked where our decorations were. We pointed to the Advent Wreath and explained it to them.
There was also the creche, with the empty crib and Mary and Joseph processing Sunday by Sunday in its direction. Nearby were the shepherds, and at a further distance, the Wise Men. Except for piano practicing, we played no Christmas Carols during Advent, nor did we have or attend parties. Then, on Christmas eve day, we decorated the tree, but turned on the the lights only to check to replace any that were not working. There had been the baking and decorating of cookies during the week, but no one had been allowed to eat them - not even a sample.
Then, on Christmas eve after dinner, we turned out all the lights, gave candles to those old enough to carry them safely, and stood around the Christmas tree for a blessing ceremony which included reading from the gospel of St. Luke and a Christmas carol. Following this, Daddy turned on the tree lights and we all gasped in wonder. Next, we sang “O come all ye faithful” and processed to the creche. Mary and Joseph had arrived on the 4th Sunday of Advent; the youngest child now placed the baby Jesus in the crib, and we sang Silent Night.
All accomplished - we turned on the lights and listened to and sang Christmas carols and ate cookies.
Finally, the children went down for a nap, Daddy and I played Santa Clause, and at 10:30 we woke up the children hustled them out the back way and went to Mass. Upon returning from Mass, the children found their stockings filled. Part of the beauty of this last custom was that Mom and Dad could sleep in in the morning.
I discovered that the mothers at the Catholic school our children attended would have loved to have the school Christmas program after Christmas, also, but the administration wasn’t interested.
God bless us all and grant us a holy celebration of the birth of Our Lord.
I particularly like the suggestions in “The Catholic Home” by Meredith Gould. I’ve always liked the idea of a live tree, but we can’t really do that where we live: if we cut one down, we’re out in subzero temps with very small children; if we get pre-cut, the tree will likely dry out well before Christmas—either at home or in the lot. We finally got a (nice) fake tree, which has worked out well, and have decided to wait until Gaudete (joyful-pink) Sunday to put the tree up. Then, we can keep up the tree through the Epiphany without worry of a fire hazzard. I agree with a previous post about likening Advent and Christmas preparations to prepping a nursery. We do a Jesse tree with scripture readings, which the kids love. For music, we listen to a lot of chant and instrumental. Still lots of Christmas songs there, but at least the noise and the voices are subdued or absent. We like “Hymns” by Mary Beth Chapman, “Christmas Meditation, vol. 2” (LaserLight/AMG), “Christmas at Ephesus” by the Benedictines of Mary, and the first “The Priests” album.
Judy - thanks for expressing my setiments. As a teacher at a Catholic school, one pastor made us call our “Christmas Concert” a “Winter Concert” since it was not Christmas yet. Then…we received complaints because a “Catholic School was succumbing to the culture by not using the word Christmas”. Sometimes…we can’t win.
Before commercialization, Christmas began December 25. The Twelve Days of Christmas extended to the Twelfth Night. That’s January 6, the long-time date of the Epiphany, now moved to the first Sunday in January. That’s when the Christmas tree should come down.
Commercialization is just another problem we must work around. Catholics are in the world, but not of the world. We must live parallel lives to commercialism and the other secular mischief that attack our values.
Be joyful in your faith. Read a Catholic book.
I’d love to have a list of Advent songs, especially if they happen to be ones I could buy on iTunes to make a single CD for us or as a playlist for the iPod. I’ve been meaning to look into that myself, but it would be so nice to start with one already compiled!
As for celebrating Advent during Advent and Christmas between Christmas Eve and the Epiphany, we often travel out-of-state during the holidays. That makes it very difficult to establish our own traditions for home during those times. We often have to compromise or miss out on things altogether. This year we’ll be home for Christmas Day so have decided to get a real tree in the first time in maybe five years, but we’ll have to take it down right after Christmas so it won’t be a fire hazard while we’re away. I’m sure other families are in the same situation.
When our children were little, I actually found myself fighting against our pastor who didn’t want ANY vestiges of Christmas in the school. They couldn’t even have a Christmas pageant unless they left out the Nativity story because “it wasn’t Christmas yet.” They could sing Jingle Bells, but not Silent Night. Craziness. As a teacher and mom I see Advent as the teachable moment where we DO sing Christmas carols and decorate and make and bake. Now I DO have a problem with decorating too soon, like the day after Thanksgiving and then tossing everything the day after Christmas, but I think our little ones deserve the joy of the carols and decorations all during Advent. Jesus is coming, and the carols and decorations are similar to the preparations we make for new babies. We decorate because Jesus is coming just like we decorate a nursery when the new baby is coming. We can’t be scrooges, we have to be balanced. Sing and decorate before and then enjoy until the Baptism of Jesus when the Christmas season comes to an end. Our Christmas carols are beautiful religious songs which teach the Christmas story. Sing them during Advent!
My husband is very adamantly against waiting until Christmas Eve to put up a tree (he isn’t Catholic) but we came up with a compromise. We put Purple and Pink ornaments up at the beginning of Advent and then put traditional ornaments up on Christmas Eve.
I like the Happy Advent sentiment. I think of the Advent as like the last month of pregnancy- you are happily expectant for the miracle to arrive.
I agree, Danielle. I like to wait until the 15th or so to put up our tree, but get pressure from others to do it sooner. As much as I love the tree, putting it up then seems good to me, and we leave it up well into January, until all Christmas activities in the Church are done. Even in the Church they ahve moved up Epiphany. How many tress do we see out on the curb the day or so after Christmas?
After reading about the Von Trapp family, I loved the idea of the parents setting up the tree in secret on Christmas eve, all the baking and things being done in prepartation, with only Advent music, yet how do you adopt that culture into ours? I try to do it somewhat, which is, at least, something. Christ’s thing and thank you for all you do. I so enjoy all your posts.
Here are a couple more I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E48tDob8jtM&feature=related
http://tinyurl.com/yherjh3
I like Maggie’s ideas. I particularly think the Advent sacrifice jar and daily prayers are exceptional. I would skip the “Happy Advent” sentiment, however. Advent is supposed to be a time of preparation similar to Lent, isn’t it, with sacrifice and acts of penance and contrition? The greeting of “Happy Advent” just doesn’t ring the right tone to me.
Great post Danielle. Although I do my best to distinguish between preparing for and celebrating Christmas, it’s difficult not to overcompensate because we are bombarded by exposure to the Santa/presents version. If materialism and greed can be good evangelists, so can we! This is the perfect time of year to communicate the basic gospel message. I used to be pickier about the liturgical seasons, but when most people just aren’t there yet, I try to see every “early” holiday celebration as another opportunity to share Christ.
Other things to do:change the radio station when they play carols. Don’t play Christmas music until it is Christmas. Have each member of the family make an Advent sacrifice jar. Have a special prayer service with the lighting of the Advent wreath each day.(We use the one from 1970’s missialettes) Don’t watch Christmas movies now rent them during Christmas. Wish people Happy Advent. I do my best to keep the two seasons seperate and people seem to actually appreciate it.
Maria Von Trapp’s book, “Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family”, has a few advent hymns in it, as well as some beautiful advent traditions described. A generous soul has published them online here:
http://vontrapp.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/advent-hymns.pdf
In fact, the entire book is wonderful. Read if if you can find it (it’s out of print, I had to borrow it via ILL).
Keeping Advent is hard, but worth it. What a beautiful season. Thanks for letting me know I’m not alone in this.
Manheim Steamroller has a wide range of excellent songs—many very traditional that seem to me to be the best fit with the season. I’m sure there are others in a similar vein…
Gregorian Chant, Alma Mater: Music From The Vatican, the first Priest cd. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Sisten Chapel Choir for the Papal Masses and other Liturgies.
I would love to have a list!
Danielle Bean, a wife and mother of eight, is editorial director of Faith & Family magazine and author of My Cup of Tea, Mom to Mom, Day to Day, and most recently Small Steps for Catholic Moms. Read more of her blogging at Faith & Family Live and DanielleBean.com.
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