Ah, advent. That weird, quiet period between Black Friday and the Boxing Day Sales. A time to count down until you get all those presents you very specifically asked someone to buy for you. A time to throw the diet plan out of the window and gorge yourself silly on Iceland beef wellington and endless buttery canapés. A time to do regretful things at office parties, and to start looking for a new job as a result. Yes, truly it's a time of awe and wonder.
Or perhaps there's a little bit more to the next few weeks than overeating, over-consuming and oversharing. Does it bother you that big corporations are hijacking your experience of the Christmas season, or that you've become complicit in a culture of excess for no logical reason? If so, then here are just a few ideas for how you can begin to unpick the consumeristic influences on the festive season, and maybe enjoy a slightly more memorable – and fun – advent as a result.
Create your own waiting traditions
One of the big problems with a consumerist Christmas is that it replaces advent's amazing sense of anticipation with a kind of on-going gratification. Lego advent calendars are amazing (I only wish I could afford one), but they don't really help you to experience anything apart from the excitement of a new toy every morning (which kind of undermines the whole concept of waiting for Christmas...). Traditionally advent was about waiting, anticipating and counting down –whether that was to a family reunion or an opportunity to commemorate the birth of Jesus. The self-discipline, self-denial and delayed gratification of a traditional advent are all great virtues to practise, and they help us with our gratitude and ability to sense excitement and wonder. So why not find your own way to count down to the big day – whether that's planting trees or writing in a journal; giving something up lent-style or even just making and wrapping gifts for people you love.
Look back, look forward
Coming conveniently at the end of the year, advent creates a perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the past 12 months. In a fast-paced world it's often counterintuitive to simply stop and think, so advent gives us a great excuse. Carve out some time to look back through your calendar – or even your Facebook timeline – and you'll almost certainly discover that you've taken the past year for granted, and forgotten a whole heap of wonderful or important memories.
In the same way, a bit of time to stop and reflect amid the busyness could also be a chance to look ahead at your hopes for 2016. There's no law that says this sort of thing needs to wait until New Year's Eve; in fact taking some time to think about your goals / dreams / fears for the year ahead now means you can get off to a running start on January 1.
Fix something broken (#1)
If you really want to meaningfully protest against the stranglehold of consumerism, then consider the lost art of repair. It's the one thing those big companies hope you'll never be bothered to do; that's why everything from furniture to technology has become what Douglas Coupland termed 'semi disposable.' So instead of throwing out that broken plate / picture frame / printer and replacing it with a new one, get out the superglue / hammer and nails / screwdriver. In doing so, you're reflecting the redemptive, remaking nature of the incarnation at the heart of the Christmas story. Or at least, saving a bit of cash.
Fix something broken (#2)
In the same way that we don't bother to fix our broken toasters anymore, many of us struggle to fix our broken relationships. Most of us can immediately think of at least one regret in this regard; so how about using advent, and all the warm feelings of peace and goodwill that it carries, as a prompt to contact that old friend or relative with whom things ended badly, and get out that metaphorical superglue. You'll probably find they've been desperate to make exactly the same repair.
By the way, in case this isn't clear, don't use superglue on a toaster.
Connect with the original story
And if specially coloured coffee cups and endless sales aren't the true meaning of Christmas, then why not use advent to ask what it is. Like an overplayed Slade song, most of us have heard the Christmas story so many times that it's lost all meaning to us; it's all just a wash of festive wallpaper, full of shepherds and donkeys and kings. So here's a really big challenge – this Christmas, try to experience that story again completely fresh; to hear it as if for the first time. Head out to a local Christmas carol service; read the story in the Bible, in Matthew chapters 1 and 2, and Luke chapter 2. You might just find it surprises you.
Whatever you do, have a great advent. Don't drink too much eggnog, and make sure you're nice to the boss at the Christmas party. And if you can find the time, maybe stop and ask if there's even more to it than overpriced presents, cheesy music and saturated fat.
Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. You can follow him on Twitter: @martinsaunders
