For those of you who think Christmas will be here all too soon, let me just say this about that: From Advent Sunday to Christmas Day we’ll have the most time we’ve had since 2005 and we won’t have this much time again until 2016.
“Advent,” from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” is observed in Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus. The Advent calendar is used to count, or celebrate, the days of anticipation. Some calendars are strictly religious, others are secular, but all count down the days till Christmas.
Now here’s the fun part—the actual date Advent begins can be as early as today, November 27, or as late as December 3. And that means that this year we have 29 days to prepare, whereas in 2012 there’s only 23 days on the Advent calendar.
So relax! You’ve got lots more time this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas to get everything done. And I’m warning you now about next year!