Advent v Christmas

The delicate balance at a school (that is Catholic [and strives to be so]) between Advent, Christmas, and secular christmas is something I reflect too much on.

Advent: wreathes, penance services, thoughts, prayers, St. Nicholas Day. All seem appropriate and balanced. But then...

Christmas: Jesus is finally here! Savior! Mass! and VACATION - most likely for days before and days after; sometimes for the whole Christmas season. Still, this balance would be easy to strike if not for...

SECULAR CHRISTMAS! SANTA! GIFTS! STUFF! BAD SONGS! Materialism. Die Hard. All those things.

In magic wand world (the world where I have a magic wand and can make all things as I see fit), we would do our best to not engage in or with secular christmas (or Easter, but that's a post for April). Families can handle the secular side of things as they see fit - gifts, Santa, extravagance, etc. Especially in a lower-income community, the wanton capitalism can be a bit sickening.

Of course, I did put up our tree up front and set up Christmas music in our office. I do feel like the music can help create that feeling of joy, hope, and love that Advent and Christmas are supposed to bring.

Let us focus on the eternal and not the temporal.