Why Christian parents should bother with Advent

Gareth Crispin suggests that you can get preparing for Advent now, and reap the benefits later

No doubt you’ve seen the signs of Christmas already. The notices about office Christmas parties often come first, then mince pies in the supermarket (even with an end of November best before!) earlier and earlier the preparations seem to start! As I type I’m waiting for my son who’s playing in a music group and two mums have literally just started singing Santa Clause is coming to town! You couldn’t have scripted it better!

As Christians we can get swept up in this rush to Christmas and forget that there is a season that comes before The Season – I’m talking about advent. But what exactly is advent and why do we celebrate it? The purists will say (and I found this out after over 35 years in churches!) that advent is when we remember the second coming of Christ. The idea is that before we celebrate the first coming of Christ at Christmas, we take a moment to celebrate the second coming at Advent. As a youth, children and families worker I tried year after year to get this changed. I used to say …..