Poember December

We Wait in Joyful Hope

A prayer for Second Advent

As we wait in joyful hope Our hearts in preparation To experience full scope The thrill of expectation

We pause to pray for blessing For those who are in great need With compassion expressing Kindness in our words and deeds

Our prayers for second Advent Are for peace in distant lands An end to war and dissent And safe return to homelands

We remember the journey, Nazareth to Bethlehem Of sweet Joseph and Mary As we pray we honor them

For those of us who observe Advent, the focus during this second week of Advent (December 10–16, 2023) is peace and preparation. We reflect on our lives and work on becoming better versions of ourselves in preparation for Jesus’ coming. We remember the journey Joseph and Mary took from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This is the inspiration for my poem.

While shopping with my wife this past weekend, as we were walking away after paying for our purchases, she cheerfully told the clerk, “Happy Second Advent!” I looked back to see the puzzled look on the clerk’s face and chuckled.

“What’s funny?” my wife asked.

I replied, “She has no idea what you meant by happy Second Advent.”

“What? We always say that in Germany! Everybody says Happy Advent!”

“Well, you’re in America in the Protestant ‘Bible Belt’. We Catholics celebrate Advent. Episcopalians, Lutherans, and some Methodists celebrate Advent. But, most other people, even those who are Christian, don’t know what it is.”

My wife has been in the US for five years — since we married. The first time she greeted me with “Happy Advent,” I was surprised because her family is not religious. Although her grandparents were religious at one time, during the years of Communist rule in East Germany, when she was born (we are a May/December couple, she being May), the family did not attend church very often. When my wife was a child, her nuclear family did not attend. So, I asked her how she knew it was Advent. Her reply was, “Everybody knows!”

When preparing this narrative for my poem, I discovered that Lutherans in Germany established many traditions celebrating Advent, including the tradition of an Advent calendar.

While I was in Germany last year to celebrate Christmas with my wife’s family, we went on a day trip close to her little village in East Germany. We walked around the town of Eisleben, the birthplace of Martin Luther.

I came to understood why the tradition of wishing one another Happy Advent continued. Just as many non-religious people celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday in my country, including saying Merry Christmas, the joy and reflection of Advent lingers on in Germany. Now, most churches around the world that follow a Christian liturgical calendar celebrate Advent.

In case you aren’t familiar with the Christian celebration of Advent in preparation for Christmas and Christ’s birth, I found a simple explanation:

The first day of Advent is the first day of a new Liturgical (or church) calendar and begins a four-week period of preparation for the nativity of Jesus Christ at Christmas. The Advent Season is all about reflecting on how we can prepare our hearts and homes for Christ’s birth in the world as it is today. (“What Is Advent Season? A Closer Look at the Christian Tradition”)

A note on poetic form

Inspired by the tanaga created by Carolyn Hastings, I decided to give the form a try. I’m beginning to find writing with rhyme a bit more palatable.

I read the link provided by Carolyn and discovered a tanaga was not limited to one quatrain, and except for the 7 syllable rule, the rhyme scheme could vary. I like counting syllables, so this form was fun!

Take a peek at Carolyn’s sweet Christmas tanaga.

Please feel free to join in the Paper Poetry “Poember December” fun!