The Church celebrates Advent as a time of preparation for the birth of Christ. It is not as old as Lent, the great fast to prepare for Easter and the initiation of new converts at the vigil, but arose at least by the fifth century. The logic of Advent and Lent is that major events take preparation and in this case we are preparing our souls to rece...

If Thanksgiving were a person, it would be a pitiable fellow. Halloween is anticipated all through autumn with lots of decorations, costumes, and candy. Then society rapidly shifts focus to preparing for the “holiday season” which obviously begins with Thanksgiving, but everyone knows is really all about Christmas. Ever seen “Happy Holidays�...