It's the most wonderful time of the year...

ADVENT!

Most people refer to this time of year as Christmas or "The Holidays". Advent is more accurate for Christians as Christmas begins on December 25th (Christmas Day?!), the period of preparation leading up to this is known as Advent. Christians are supposed to prepare for the coming of the Lord. How? Prayer, going to Mass, the doing of good deeds, etc...

I'll talk now about the term "Happy Holidays". Firstly, it is important to know where the word "holiday" comes from. Simply put; Holy and Day - Holiday. In days past, when the Earth was cooling, the only time you had not working was a Holy Day set by the Church (Roman or otherwise). As we progressed, and became lazier, the words were joined to form "Holiday".

Now, you may not expect to hear this from me. I like the term Happy Holidays in some circumstances. Take where I live for example; the cultural and religious melting-pot that is the U S of A. It may sound shocking but: NOT EVERYONE CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS. We do all, however, have time off work. So, not that I think the words Merry and Christmas are offensive, we use the term Holidays to encompass all of the celebrations of whatever religions have Holy Days or Celebrations at this time of year.

I think of this because at the Parish I work for (St Cecilia, San Francisco) we encourage Parishioners and the school to adopt Advent for what it is. Preparation for Christmas. This can be tough to convince young people to do, so it's been in my mind a lot recently.

For me however, this is the time of the year I call Happy Times. I'm going home, fair reader. I have been lax in my blogging but I have a tradition of writing one whilst waiting for my flight. It's happy because I will see my family and friends, have fun, and celebrate Christmas. I have missed my family SO MUCH that I am practically giddy.

So, as I sit here with my litre of Stella Artois, I am smiling. I am looking forward to the next month of fun, smiles, and hugs! See you soon San Francisco. Get ready Nottingham!

Wishing you all a Happy and Holy Advent, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...Happy Holidays, everyone!