Twelve Traditions of Christmas - Part 3

YE OLDE ADVENT CALENDAR.  Back in the mid-1950's, a friend of my parents gave them an Advent calendar. Although we may have used it occasionally when we were small, I don't remember it being a staple of my growing up years.  Lo and behold, I grew up, got married, we started our family, and the calendar was offered to us.  Is it possible that no one else wanted it?  Whatever the reason, this little handmade, unique treasure is now ours and we have used it every year since we received it.  The calendar is made of green felt, with a large white felt Christmas tree sewn onto the middle.  There are 13 pockets on the top and bottom of the calendar, each pocket having an ornament to pin onto the tree, and each pocket containing a poem or saying that goes with the ornament.  It's truly charming!  I'll admit that the poems and sayings are often schmaltzy and sentimental, but they were hand-typed onto the papers, typos and all, and we have grown to appreciate them.  By now the papers are starting to tear at the fold marks and I wonder if they'll last another generation.

When our children were young, I had to develop a schedule for putting the ornaments on to avoid arguments.  EVERYONE wanted to put the star on the tree top!   If it wasn't your year to put the star on top, you could hope for getting the ornament on Christmas Day, which is a tiny little manger scene.  The piece of paper in that pocket says simply:  "For Christmas story, read Luke 2."   Over the years, some of the ornaments have deteriorated and/or broken and have had to be replaced.  I think we are on our third snowflake now.  One year the candle poem disappeared and I had to find a new one (suitably schmaltzy and sentimental) to replace it.  The Santa ornament contains a fairly longish story about the history of Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, on whom the myth of Santa Claus is based.  And make no mistake, though some of the poems and sayings give a nod to good old Santa, the thread of truth remains woven through the rest:  we are looking toward and celebrating the birth of Christ.

I still put the calendar up every year, although the schedule is no longer needed and I often end up placing the ornaments on the tree myself.  Sometimes the poems and stories in the pockets don't get read.  But we keep the tradition and day by day, the tree gets filled, anticipation builds and the Advent of Christ is observed.  May it ever be so.