The modern observance of Advent is often difficult to distinguish from the season of Christmas. The secular world is already in full party mode, with Christmas sweets, social celebrations and even gift-giving.
It's almost laughable to think of Advent today as a season of penance and fasting.
Yet, for most of Christian history Advent was exactly that, a penitential season that was similar to Lent, though never as strict. It consisted of periodic fasting and personal sacrifices, traditions that are in stark contrast to the modern delicacies everyone enjoys throughout the month of December.
This is why Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, can be so confusing, as one of the original reasons behind this joyful Sunday was to relax the penances everyone was engaged in.
In the 1902 edition of the American Ecclesiastical Review, the author notes this aspect of Gaudete Sunday.
While it may be difficult for us to reclaim the original spirit of Advent, we can make deliberate choices to hold off eating the Christmas cookies until Christmas Eve.
At the same time, we could also make Gaudete Sunday more joyful, indulging in some of our Christmas sweets on that day, while observing a more sombre Advent before and after.
Whatever we do, let us recall how our ancestors observed this sacred season and learn from them, understanding how we can prepare our hearts to better receive the graces of Christmas into our soul.
