“Ha’ a still really go’ day and merry christmas,” said ekspeditricen and handed me bæreposen with two whisky glass packed neatly in christmas paper.
The first expression, ‘ha’ a still really go’ day,’ to be dug down on sprogkirkegården and never, never resurrected. The second, ‘merry christmas,’ shall we wish one another, when we welcome in the church on christmas eve.After julegudstjenesten, mind you.
Or at least allertidligst the night before christmas eve. Not before – and certainly not the 4. december in the rain at Amagertorv. For it is not christmas yet. It is decembermørke, it is advent, as we no longer know the difference.
Not even in the churches, where the crib with babyjesus, shepherds, and Mary are often put forth already to the first Sunday in advent. Big mistake. And then we should also probably issue warnings in cases of religious skånehensyn, prostrations for islam, cultural self-hatred, and what do I know, when someone dares to replace the christmas party with the kulturrelativistiske ‘vinterfest’.
Nissemænd with vintermænd. Christmas tree with vintertræ. Juleboller with vinterboller. Julemedister with vintermedister. And. So. On. It is also ridiculous, foolish and everything else – but one of the orcs almost.
“Do just do not know my old christmas’ – no, no, no – but don’t worry, christmas is not in danger. It is the advent to the return. Advent, a word that in our active vocabulary almost only composed with a wreath or gifts. Adventskrans. Adventsgaver.
While the advent and adventsfejringen has disappeared out of our consciousness. And I would venture to claim that it has greater human, existential meaning than fuss about christmas or vintersylten. The word ‘advent’ comes from the Latin ‘adventus domini’, which means ‘the coming of the Lord’.
Here we go and think that it is always us that moves us – come forward and determines the direction in our lives. But as we move through the vintergrå, through the heart to the quiet countryside in december, is that at the same time, something that comes to meet us.
Advent, which extends over the four Sundays before christmas, is forventningstid, but opposite to all what we are used to, determines we are not what we expect.
We expect everything of ourselves, of life, of the good life, of each other, of love, of happiness (as no one has promised us).
And bestows the life to us not what we even expect – that is, the extension of ourselves, our own imaginations, desires, and dreams – yes, then swiper we just ahead to the right or to the left.
For his patience with life, with ourselves and each other to fall so hard. Recently I heard a journalist on P1 say that perhaps we rather should deal with, they turned off the light in the adventskransen than with the lit.
the Darkness in the world and in the us – and to our lives at both ends is lost a dark. Advent is an exercise in being in the world and put us with, that we can not open the always unfinished chapter waiting for us.
The unpredictable, as we do not master, but which we, with all our impatience trying to get power over. It is a condition, we are people. For we will always wait on it to become better, different, something new – waiting for the day where we can say: ‘Now I no longer have to wait on everything to be good, for now it is come.’
It never comes. For those who are expecting something simple of the world, may be disappointed. And disappointed expectations follow the advents and christmas season.
And when we feel it the small end, the small end of the world, it is hard to believe that joy exists. Can be found again. Or find us. For it happens against expectation, that heaven is over our lives will be rolled together as a tapetrulle, and the stars fall down.
And so it is advent before christmas.
The undergangstone does not disappear into christmas, on the contrary, but can be dimmed in the advent of the anticipation gentle touch of our man’s heart was given.
the Expectation of the marvelous, we are hiking towards, coming to meet us – in the recognition that life rarely goes as we expect, but sometimes goes beyond all expectations, because we get more than we bargained for, namely, the miracle:
the Love, the happiness, the life, the child in the manger, in your bosom, in your heart. It is a joyful deliverance of our trængslers snow. Merry advent.
Marie Høgh parish priest and commentator
F. 1985. The vicar, debater, and folketingskandidat for Conservatives. Graduated from The Faculty of Theology in 2013. The church in Lynge-Uggeløse. I write about faith and existence. About christianity, love, values and a lack of the same. To be human in society and the world in the year 2019. And the most important thing in the big little life, with all that life is.
