1 December – Sylvia Roberts, St Peter’s Church

Christmas comes but once a year

At the end of October – before the clocks went back – I had a short break in south Devon with my husband. The hotel was pleasant, the food was good and our room was delightful – BUT the whole place was fully decorated for Christmas with lavish decorations, lighted Christmas trees in all the main rooms and (worst of all!) piped Christmas music wherever we went. Bear in mind this was before Bonfire Night, before All Saints and All Souls Days and before the month of Remembrance – the month of November – had even commenced.

So now that we have actually entered the season of Advent (as of last Sunday) the season of quiet, contemplative and prayerful preparation for the great festival of Christmas I thought I would spend a few moments sharing my thoughts on my experience with you.

Firstly – and most obviously I suppose – are my feelings that if Christmas is done to death two months early then when the festival actually arrives it feels worn out and jaded and that detracts from its shining preciousness which I well remember as a child and still treasure.
To counter that I have to remind myself that businesses, shops and many commercial concerns have to prepare for Christmas quite early in the year so that things can be ordered and arrangements put in place.

Secondly, we can all hardly fail to be aware that this is a very special year for celebrating Christmas. With lockdown and all the restrictions and privations caused by the Covid epidemic, not to mention the extremely muted festival last year, a Christmas with all the trimmings is naturally and understandably yearned for.

My third group of thoughts are round the commercialization of Christmas with much thinking about what to buy and what to spend even as so many in our own country are living near of below the bread line and fourthly we are all too aware that the “Gimme. Gimme. Gimme” mentality only leads to disappointment and ultimately despair.

So now that we have actually entered Advent, the season of preparation for the great festival, perhaps we can spend a few moments each day focussing on what the gift of a vulnerable Saviour really means for us and for our world. What does God want us to understand through this baby, this birth, this little family and these circumstances?