Do You Hear What I Hear?

 I am digging out my Christmas CDs.  I have already put up my Christmas tree.  I think that I am largely finished shopping for the holiday.  I have plans for my small holiday gathering.  I am looking forward to Christmas this year.

For much of my life I was personally a role model for the Advent Police.  I tried to delay the tree and the decorations as long as possible.  I would say that I tried to emphasize the waiting and preparing part, but I have to admit there used to be a lot of shopping.  I tried for the weeks before Christmas to emphasize the Advent, not the Christmas season.  But, it was hard to do.  

One of the worst parts of that way of celebrating is that on December 25 most of the rest of the world is tired of "Christmas".  The music goes away, the decorations come down, the holiday parties are New Years, not Christmas. My church stays decorated until well into January, but for most of the people I meet, the Christmas season is long gone.

So, there was always a compromise in my celebrations.  I went to Christmas parties before Christmas.  I did not put up the tree on December 24th.  I didn't usually leave things up until late January.  And by things, I mean the tree and the wreaths and the other holiday decorations. I participated in non-Advent season activities, but I grumbled.

On that year, a few years ago when I took off for Oklahoma for Christmas to escape a crazy situation, I listened to Christmas CDs before Christmas.  They provided me with familiarity and comfort in a strange and sometimes scary situation. Driving through rural countryside can be beautiful and restful, but there aren't a lot of radio stations and those Christmas CDs got played over and over. They are songs you can sing along with.

I still try to keep Advent.  I think next year if things have returned to a semblance of normal, I will really appreciate things I am not doing this year.  Going out on a cold night to Mass for a Holy Day will be one of those things.  This year I will go online.  And I am thankful for the cheer and encouragement brought into my life by those Christmas CDs.