For many families, the first sign of the coming festivities comes, after the advent wreath, with baking. Smells of cookies, cakes and bread pervade many homes. From spice cookies to almond crescents there is a joy that accompanies this activity. Especially in homes with small, and not so small, children using the cookie cutters is a way to include all members of the family in the process. A lot of thought goes into baking. Choosing the recipes, finding the ingredients, and baking takes time but it is a time that during Christmas many don't quite measure, it simply goes by in a way that reminds me of something an old professor commented once. He was reminiscing about his childhood Christmases and one of the things he remembered noticing was that time seemed to not exist during Christmas. Family members came and time was spent sharing, eating, playing, and singing, but this time spent wasn't measured. No one stopped to notice the time spent during preparation or the time spent together, people simply enjoyed the unaccounted-for hours. What mattered was being together and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. God our Saviour had come into the world to live amongst us, and he had come as a small child.
This reminded me of something Edith Stein wrote about Christmas, of how even for people of other faith or no faith at all Christmas is a moment of love and joy. Something to share amongst the family. For Christians and especially Catholic Christians, however, she points out, it is a period in which we are guided by a star that points us to the child that comes to bring peace to the world. And just as we take countless amount of hours to prepare food for our loved ones. To do what so many others in the world are doing, sharing love and joy over innumerable hours, we who are aware of the deep meaning in these dates should take time to prepare our hearts to live the joy that is the birth of our Saviour. As the O Antiphons remind us as the progress in the liturgy: O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O God with Us, we are witnessing anew what our forefathers in faith witness, God comes to dwell among us and we rejoice in His faithfulness.
Happy and Blessed Christmas Everyone!
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