The Advent season is upon us once again! This is the beginning of liturgical year of the Catholic Church, the time to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child. A journey that will bring us great joy, but also great stress.
It seems like every year of my adult life (and I am sure the tradition goes farther back than that) there seems to be a rallying cry for Christians, by Christians to get out of the secular madness of the Christmas season, and only embrace the anticipation of the pending birth. We are told to remember “the reason for the season” and shamed if we get caught up in the larger culture madness. We should stay at home and pray, not spend money and go to parties.
While I would be the first to encourage people to simplify their life, and to always remember “The Reason”, I don’t think people should feel bad about seasonal stress. As a father of an 18 month old, I can still remember the stress of the “advent” of my daughter’s birth. It was equal parts joy and terror. We couldn’t wait for her coming, but we were also worried about having enough diapers, and making sure we didn’t forget to invite someone to the baby shower.
At least in our family and circle of friends the birth of our child was a communal event. I don’t think we are out of the norm on this either. So similarly, I don’t feel ashamed having work parties, and trying to get together with old friend on the eve of Christ birth. I actually thing this is a more authentic way of celebrating any birth than entering a time of solitude and austerity. So I say eat, drink, and pray a little more too.
