ADVENT 2023 (7576)
Advent began on December 3rd and it lasts until Christmas Eve, December 24th. And millions of Christians have entirely lost sight of this beautiful and I believe NEEDED season. For many, celebrating Christmas begins right after Thanksgiving, and by the time the actual Christmas holiday arrives, most are ready to start thinking about the New Year. That is NOT the way Christmas was celebrated for most of church history. Celebrating Christmas only began AFTER Advent ended. My father told me that when he was growing up the Christmas tree wasn't even decorated until Christmas Eve. Admittedly, Christmas and Advent were traditions that developed later, namely after the Apostolic Age. The earliest evidence of Christians commemorating the Birth of Christ is from the early 2nd century. I blogged about that back in November in a post entitled, "Is Christmas a 'Pagan' Holiday?" - To read it: LINK However, when one considers WHO Jesus was it was/is only right that Christm...