Advent is a season of preparation – a penitential season when we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Savior.

Christmas seems to begin earlier every year, at least if we take our cues from store decorations and ads in the media. How often are we reminded of the number of shopping days left before Christmas? It’s all too easy to arrive at Christmas not prepared, but exhausted.

Well, there are 25 days in Advent this year (Nov. 30 – Dec. 24) and that’s plenty of time to prepare the way for the true meaning of Christmas. And while I enjoy reindeer and mistletoe as much as anyone, it is essential not to forget the richness of Christian history and tradition. Forgetting them allows the void to be filled by lesser things.

Where do we find greater meaning? Our Christian traditions are preserved in the arts: music, stories, poetry, paintings, crafts, and culinary arts. These enduring arts offer a sure path to focusing your thoughts and renewing your own sense of wonder – a straight highway in the desert of our times. On that path you will find traditions of proven worth to pass on to your children.

Creating the Advent Calendar each year has become my tradition. I will offer posts that will help your family discover the arts and traditions of Advent in a few minutes each day. We won’t be sending you to the crafts store, but I do recommend having a family Advent wreath with a circle of evergreens, three purple candles, one rose candle, and one white candle, of possible. Otherwise, everything you will need can be found right here in these posts.