The article has some interesting thoughts but I do want to ask who is the 'we' here? The article seems confused between thinking about 'we' as a wider society and 'we' as Christians.
... some churches in the USA are exploring the idea of Extended Advent�– reconnecting with the fact that Advent used to be a season of seven Sundays until Pope Gregory VI cut it down to four in the 11th�century ( Christmas without Advent is cheating: Why we need to reclaim the season | Christian News on Christian Today)To be fair, Advent has had several forms in the western churches. And today in the East, it is 'little Lent' and practised as a forty day season of preparation. The Celtic church seemed to have the same forty-day season. However, in the contemporary world, we might want to recognise a huge tension. While the inherited religious tradition has twelve days of Christmas starting on 25th December, the culture around about tends to see the 25th as the culmination of the season, perhaps supplemented by New Year's eve.
So strategically, we might be better to recognise that Christmas season begins earlier and have our more Lent-like preparatory season before that. I would suggest that pretty much all the current Advent season is, in effect, the Christmas season with the parties, the food and coral services where the incarnation is read about and sung of.
This would mean that perhaps the Kingdom Season should be treated as a preparation season. Interestingly its lectionary themes do tend in that direction. So, perhaps we should start 'advent' in November and shade into Christmas season in early-mid December. Encourage fasting in November. Perhaps consider a Ramadan-style fasting in that time (the shorter days in the northern hemisphere might make this not to burdensome).
Perhaps it is time to encourage experiments about all of this. including how to mark the various bits and phases with liturgical colours, music and ceremony.
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