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Hymns of Advent

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We have a rule in our family that we must wait to listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. It seems like a long time to wait since the Christmas decorations and displays go up in the stores before the Halloween paraphernalia is even put away. Growing up, I remember how long it seemed before the waiting was over and we could finally open our presents. Which is what Advent anticipation is all about, right...?

I recognized the same sentiment in my 3-year-old, who has been asking if it is Christmas yet since the day after her birthday. In August. I have to admit that we broke our own family rule because of her infectious excitement - we bought and listened to the new Rend Collective Christmas album about a week early. She was so thrilled when we put our tree and decorations up this past weekend that she was squealing and running laps around the house. At one point she asked me, "can we get our presents now?" I know she was thinking that surely all the waiting she had already done meant that the long anticipated event was finally here. Imagine her disappointment when I tried to explain that it wasn't actually Christmas yet, but only the Christmas season. 

This past Sunday I was looking through various hymnals looking for a good accompaniment for O Come, O Come Emmanuel to play in church, when I realized that there were a good chunk of hymns in the "Advent" section that I have never heard or sung before. We seem to be in such a rush to get to the good stuff - Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels, Silent Night - that we skip right over the hymns of preparation and anticipation that come during the four weeks before. There are some hymns that we probably don't sing because they just aren't very catchy (or good...) like O Christ! Come Back to Save Your Folk / Burst through the clouds with one clean stroke. I can see why that one never caught on... But some of the others might be just what I need to encounter the coming King in a new and fresh way.

Because I have a kid that is soaking in every detail of Christmas season this year, I want to try to observe Advent in a meaningful way. I've found that if I want anything to rub off on my kids, I have to first experience it myself, which is what I hope to do. If you're unfamiliar with my blog, I'll be posting some arrangements of Advent hymns that I'll try to record in the rare quiet moments I find in the coming days and weeks. I'm not sure where this journey will lead, but you're invited to stay tuned and hopefully find some space to encounter the living Christ who came to be Emmanuel, God with us.
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