We’re going meta with today’s meditation. Advent calendars (like this one) have long been a way to build excitement in the days leading up to Christmas. The concept was pioneered by German Lutherans, who created paper calendars with cardboard doors that opened to show tiny Bible verses.
But like everything else about the holiday, Advent calendars have become increasingly commercialized—to the point where they are often just an excuse to sell consumers a bunch of cheap stuff because it’s in a segmented cardboard box.
Today, there are Advent calendars filled with Lego figures and Advent calendars of socks. There are Advent calendars of chocolate and Advent calendars of skincare products. There are Advent calendars with hot sauce, and craft beers, and fragrance, and scented candles. All of them are built to dispense a tiny daily dopamine hit to their users.
The word “advent” is from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” Adventus is also the root for the English word “adventure.” Advent calendars may feel like they offer us a small adventure as we move through each day with a hint of delight and surprise that we don’t get on the other days of the year. But the bigger adventure of following Christ is what should delight, surprise, and thrill us most as we go through the story of Christmas.
In a season where “Advent” calendars are everywhere but the story of Christmas sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, it can be helpful to remember the “wise men,” magi from the East who embarked on the adventure of a lifetime to worship Jesus. These men spent years following a star and met with a murderous king on their long journey to deliver gifts to a baby—just so they could say they met this Savior in their lifetime. It’s a story that really puts the “thrill” of opening a tiny nail polish or the latest skin oil in its place.
Conversation starter: What makes you most excited about the Christmas season?