Advent: "...the faith of our forefathers makes itself heard in our age..."

As we enter the season of Advent this year, 100 Years in America invites you to a time of reflection on the luminous quality of this beautiful season and the mystery which surrounds the coming of the Christ Child.

"What is Advent? Many answers can be given. We can grumble and say that it is nothing but a pretext for hectic activity and commercialism, prettified with sentimental cliches in which people stopped believing ages ago. In many cases this may be true, but it is not the whole picture.

"We can say the reverse, that Advent is a time when, in the midst of an unbelieving world, something of the luminous quality of this lost faith is still perceptible, like a visual echo. Just as stars are visible long after they have become extinct, since their erstwhile light is still on its way to us, so this mystery frequently offers some warmth and hope even to those who are no longer able to believe in it.

"Advent is a time when a kindness that is otherwise almost entirely forgotten is mobilized; namely, the willingness to think of others and give them a token of kindness. Finally Advent is a time when old customs live again, for instance, in the singing of carols which takes place all over the country. In the melodies and the words of these carols, something of the simplicity, imagination and glad strength of the faith of our forefathers makes itself heard in our age, bringing consolation and encouraging us perhaps to have another go at that faith which could make people so glad in such hard times."

~ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Seek That Which Is Above: Meditations Through the Year (originally published in 1986)

As we enter this time of preparation for Christmas and look for ways to celebrate the season, you might enjoy reading about some of the Hungarian and Croatian traditions that I have written about here at 100 Years in America. Inspired last holiday season by Thomas MacEntee's Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, I wrote twelve articles about Croatian and Hungarian Christmas customs. In reading them I hope you'll find a few new traditions to try out in your family for the first time or to reawaken this holiday season.

A Blessed Advent to you!

Botticelli's Virgin and Child with the Young John the Baptist is the focus of the 2008 Christmas stamp created by the U.S. Postal Service.