'Tis the season

With Thanksgiving, it is readily apparent that the seasons have changed. Besides the insane crush of holiday shoppers and the exponential explosion of holiday shopping ads, there are other signs. The local contemporary Christian radio station has started playing Christmas music. I've seen an ad on TV for Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Several of my neighbors already have Christmas lights up! I'm sure I'll talk more about neighborhood light displays later - the neighborhood has a contest, and some houses go a bit overboard.

At church, the change of seasons is apparent, but in a completely different way. Today is the first Sunday in Advent - the altar hangings and priestly vestments have changed to purple, and there is a large Advent wreath. No more flowers, but there are evergreens. The church won't be decorated for Christmas until Christmas Eve. (And I've learned that it was once considered bad luck to have decorations up before Christmas Eve! My neighbors must be courting disaster!)

And the music has shifted in tone to one of contemplation and expectation. Our very talented music director has put together another good set of liturgical music for the season, on the theme of "O Come O Come Emmanuel". Very beautiful. I've always liked that particular hymn, and I was pleased to learn last year that it dates back to the 9th century, and is based on the O Antiphons, a set of traditional antiphons done by the Church from December 17-23. Sometimes tradition is very cool - in a sense I feel connected to history.

And ultimately, that's what makes me feel like Christmas is coming. Now all I need is snow!