Advent

(Advent calendar with an image of the medieval
German town of Rothenburg, found at Bas Bleu)

(This month we rejoice in the season of giving.)

The custom began in the nineteenth century in Germany, of counting the days until Christmas Eve by opening a window on an Advent calendar every morning. Advent or “the coming” begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas; the calendars begin on December 1.

ADVENT

Open my eyes on the welcome
rosy shock of sunshine.

Open the first little door
of my Advent calendar;

a darling hobby horse
on wheels. Open

the window a crack: and
quickly close it against

a knife-like draft. The day
looks warmer than it is.

~ James Schulyer (1923-1991), American poet