The first season of the Christian year, Advent, is a late-comer to the church calendar, having been officially designated in the ninth century. It begins with the Sunday nearest November 30 and lasts until Christmas Eve. One liturgical color for Advent is purple, representing both the royalty of Christ and our need for repentance.

Advent is a time of waiting for someone to come. In fact all of life is full of waiting, yet we never become very good at it. The people of Israel waited hundreds of years for the Messiah. We can hardly wait for 60 seconds for a traffic light to change.

Waiting can be active or passive. We can occupy ourselves with necessary preparations, expecting that something will truly happen. Or we can pass the time sighing and complaining, seeing ourselves as victims of circumstances, waiting uselessly.

My mother seldom wasted time. When she had to wait for something, she read or crocheted or played the piano.

Can you imagine Christmas without lights? People who do not even understand "the reason for the season" often cover the inside and outside of their houses with hundreds of electric lights. Most of us enjoy driving through various neighborhoods to see the lighting displays.

Advent calendars come in all kinds of designs and materials. There are wooden ones with toys to hang on pegs. Some are felt or cardboard. Some are carefully preserved from year to year. Others are disposable. What is their purpose?

A genealogy is an account of the descent of a family from generation to generation. It can tell us many interesting things about our personal history. Searching for "our roots" has become a popular pastime in recent years.