Advent Candles and Visiting Santa

Advent, meaning arrival. On the First Sunday of Advent, we arranged the wreath and candle centerpiece on our kitchen table, and on Sundays, Dad lit the appropriate candles and recited that week’s Advent prayer.

The First Sunday of Advent began the Christmas season in our house with Dad praying, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people…” as he lit the first purple candle.

Mom put together ingredients for plum pudding and each of us stirred in our wish for the year, adding extra stirs for those not present. The mixture steamed for hours before being stored for Christmas Day.

Advent meant anticipation for us kids. Our nativity set was arranged around the living room as Mary and Joseph began their journey to Bethlehem (on their knees, since our figures were designed for the stable, a pose that my brothers and I imitated, giggling, as we pretended to travel across the room).

We had a new Advent calendar every year, taking turns to open the flaps and see the pictures beneath. It was a hardship not to peak at Christmas morning’s Baby Jesus. Some years he was aired several times as we tried to tuck the flap back in and pretend we’d waited to see Him.

And our annual visit to Santa was planned.

There was a time, long ago, when I never doubted Santa’s role at Christmas. In fact, one year on First Street in Pontiac, when I was about seven or eight, my brothers and I heard sleigh bells. This cemented our belief, which, no doubt, was Dad’s purpose.

When my children were young, we took them to the Pontiac Mall (Summit Place) to see Santa. The mall was the first enclosed shopping center in Michigan, opened 1962 and offering Hudson’s, Sear’s, J.C. Penney’s, and Montgomery Ward’s, as well as many stores accessible from the inside. (Bought my first Beatles records at Grinnell’s there.)

Before the years of indoor malls, we Russell kids saw Santa in downtown Pontiac, and later, at the Miracle Mile shopping center on Telegraph. Always received a tiny candy cane after whispering our Christmas gift wish.

One year, my daughter Anne refused to tell me what she was asking for. “You don’t need to know,” she insisted, and after she was escorted away from Santa, I rushed up to learn what she’d said.

When asking Mom about the many Santas on street corners collecting money, or at various stores and settings, she assured us that he had many helpers. We were satisfied with that explanation.

Anticipation is the biggest part of Christmas for children. From the First Sunday of Advent to the thrill of Christmas morning, every wish and tradition build a sense of excitement and joy.

Hanging the same stockings every year on our staircase banister. Driving out to choose a tree from one of the lots, waiting a day for the branches to drop, the house fragrant with pine scent, and decorating it with familiar ornaments.

Christmas carols. Christmas specials—Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Rudolph, Grinch, versions of A Christmas Carol, including Mister Magoo. Christmas lists. Taunting TV ads of perfect toys. Decorated cookies, candy canes, all part of the reality of Christmas, including the magic of Santa.

Advent candles have names—Prophecy (purple), Bethlehem (purple), Shepherds (pink), Angels (purple), and on Christmas Day, the Birth of Jesus (white). That encompasses Christmas with rich history, meaning, ceremonies, celebrations, family, friends, peace and joy.

And it all begins today, the First Sunday of Advent.

One year, we rang sleigh bells for our children, too, after they’d gone to bed, since Christmas is a season of traditions.

A season we wish lasted all year long.