The Season of Advent

advent–noun

from the Latin adventus

meaning “coming”or arrival

especially of something extremely important

In mountain climates like ours, we have no choice but to “prepare” for the upcoming holidays of light given that they serve as the threshold of winter–no matter what our religious affiliation (or lack thereof.)

For New Englanders, it’s time for snow tires and scrapers, woolen socks and mittens, down comforters and flannel sheets, the wood pile and the woodstove, the plow poles and the shovels–and a deeper affection for the summer basil and the berries buried deep in the freezer.

The gardening books are returned to their shelves, and the poetry takes their place on the coffee table. Long neglected novels are unearthed at bedsides, and snuggling “in” supplants late nights at the pond.

All this preparation makes me wonder about those in warmer climates: How do they welcome the Season of Advent?

On this…