What do you do whilst you are anticipating Christmas?
Families often adopt their own traditions, particularly at weekends or in the week before Christmas. They might hold a baking session (I vividly remember baking mince pies with my Mum as a child on the weekend before Christmas) or make Christmas decorations for the tree. They might watch certain Christmas films (our family tends to watch ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ on the first weekend in December) or go to Christmas markets or visit Santa’s grotto. Our family likes to look at the reindeer and Christmas trees in Billingley on one weekend in December. All of these things help to build anticipation and excitement.
While we wait, it’s good to remind ourselves of what we are waiting for. We like to read the Christmas story in different forms and think about what it would have been like for Elizabeth and Mary, talking to each other about their miracle babies, or about the Wise Men, discovering the star and deciding to set off on a long journey.
What do we do while we wait for Jesus to return? Advent means ‘arrival’, and whilst we focus particularly on His arrival as a man at that first Christmas, there is always the hope that He is coming again to our world as Saviour and Judge. At this time of anticipation, it’s good to remember that we are called to serve God and live for Him each day, 365 days a year. It’s good to remind ourselves that God is at the centre of life and to live our lives in ways that honour and glorify Him.
