First Sunday of Advent

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Lisa writes: Today is the first Sunday in Advent. This is one of those tricky holidays that doesn't always land on the same day of the calendar. In Western Christianity, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, or the Sunday which falls closest to November 30, and lasts through Christmas Eve, or December 24. (Thanks, About.com!) Employing the Catholic Saturday-evening-Mass-counts-for-Sunday loophole, we went to Mass in Morristown, New Jersey last night. I was surprised to see them lighting the pink and purple Advent candles and it took me a minute to figure out why they were doing it. There was a long time, as a kid, when I would count down the days to Christmas like a NASA shuttle launch ... starting sometime in April. But, like every year of the last ten years or so, Christmas has sneaked up on me again.

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