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This is sort of a confession from a “reformed liturgical cop” who has had a love/hate relationship with the holiday season. Bear with me, as this is one of my “ramblings”.
Christmas is coming, and people need to chill. The weeks leading up to Christmas are a time of lots of stress and needless drama for a lot of people. Two different Facebook discussions in the past couple of weeks proved remarkably thought-provoking.
A brilliantly-stated meme made an important point about how the same people who relish in calling others “snowflakes” the rest of the year get needlessly uptight about the acknowledgment that people celebrate holidays the other than Christmas (Christ’s Mass, IOW).
FYI, other holidays that fall around this time include:
- Diwali (occurring in October or November)
- Hanukkah (can fall between Nov. 28 to Dec. 26)
- Las Posadas (December 16 to 24)
- Winter Solstice (December 21)
- Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1)
- Chinese New Year (Between the end of January and the end of February)
In a bit of irony, I’ve also seen people rightfully call for others to respect those that celebrate holidays other than Christmas, then criticize the fact that secular radio stations and retailers don’t follow the liturgical Advent and Christmas seasons.
Part of tolerating others’ traditions means accepting that not everyone who identifies as a Christian observes or is even aware of Advent. If this is not a part of some Christians’ celebrations, there is no reason non-Christians should be expected to observe it.
On a personal note, I think it would be nice if more non-liturgical churches were willing to adopt at least parts of the liturgical year. The holiday season, in general, is a difficult time for a lot of people and a more “countercultural” way of celebrating this time of year might be just what some with hurting hearts need.
Tolerance & respect is a better way to encourage observance of Advent than belittling or denying the importance of others’ practices. The reason for this whole season is about light and joy, so let’s try to bring these to the world!
Related posts:
A Nice Summary of Advent (HuffingtonPost)
Rowan Williams’ Advent Meditation
Yeah, Someone Who Understands!Yeah, Someone Who Understands!
AJ the Irish Lass' Ramblings 
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