While I still have my mom's Advent Wreath, I don't use it. It would feel (to me) disrespectful to set it out as purely secular decoration, and I no longer observe the rituals and prayers that go along with it. But still there is something really meaningful about marking the time in December leading up to Christmas.
Advent is a Latin word that at it's simplest definition means "coming." It is a time of "expectant waiting and of preparation." As a parent, and as the person in charge of Making Holidays Happen, my experience with Christmas tends to weigh more heavily on the preparation side, and less on the expectant waiting bit.
It's with that in mind that I decided to undertake an Advent knitting project this year. I want to cultivate a sense of peace and mindfulness each day, even as I'm running around wrapping presents, putting up trees, baking all the things, making lists, ignoring the lists, buying more things, and making sure the stacks of presents are more or less the same size. Just writing all of that out makes me want to clutch my planner to my bosom and rock back and forth, eyes wide and staring.
Last year I knit Project Peace in December, finishing it up right at the new year. There is another Peace Project for 2017, but I think I'm going to wait until January to knit that one.
This year, I'm knitting the Land of Sweets Cowl by Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade. She designed it specifically to go along with the yarny Advent calendars that several yarn companies and indie dyers are selling. The cowl is designed for 24 different colors (less than 8 grams each). I didn't buy an Advent calendar kit, so I went stash-diving into my bits and bobs and scrap yarn blanket collection.
It's shaking out to about 8 rounds of 150 stitches in each section. Just enough to take the edge off of the day and to let me focus just on me, just on peace, just on the knit stitch or the purl stitch.
So far (it is only Day 3) I've spent some of the time knitting this cowl in mindfulness meditation. It's rather lovely, and just feels good to do it. I've also spent some of the time reading Tony/Steve Avengers fanfiction, and I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty great too.
The point is that I'm taking a little space in my life every day to mark the passage of time, in a quiet, reflective way. Making the time for the "expectant waiting" is helping me remember what it was like, as a little girl, to view the entire month of December as a magical time of wonder and build up towards something incredible.
When you're the adult in charge of making the magic, sometimes it's easy to forget to stop and enjoy the miracles and wonders of the holiday season.
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