WORD OF THE WEEK
TODAY is December 1. According to the meteorologists, it’s the first day of winter.
This hardly seems possible. The weather has been so mild during the autumn until quite recently. It’s only three weeks since I was cutting the grass, and there are still autumn leaves to be swept up.
On the other hand, people have been talking about Christmas for what seems like months. There have been scares about shops being empty, shortages of toys and food, and not enough turkeys to go round (the producers assure us it will be OK, but wise housewives have put in an order).
Now we are being bombarded by adverts and catalogues telling us about all the expensive things we should buy, plus lists from the children and grandchildren.
1st December means the first day of the Advent Calendar. This is a long-standing tradition which originated in Germany in the 19th century.
Originally it was a way of teaching children about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus, with a different picture behind every flap. Nowadays, it seems to be more about chocolate, and many calendars hardly mention the Christmas story.
Those worried about their children’s weight can buy non-confectionery calendars, with little presents for each day to keep them happy until they get the big ones on the big day.
There are also calendars for adults, containing items such as toiletries, cosmetics, candles, jewellery, cheeses, wine, whisky, liqueurs and even beer!
Perhaps we would do better to get back to the Christmas story, to think about what actually happened and why it has been regarded as such an important event for more than 2,000 years by so many people around the world.