Advent caught me unprepared this year, coming so early - just after the Thanksgiving and "Black Friday" and even before "Cyber Monday" and "Giving Tuesday"- though each of
those has been announcing its arrival for a long time. It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Christmas shopping didn't jostle with Thanksgiving and even Hallowe'en for attention. Go figure: in this year of disjointed time and strange eclipses, Advent interrupts the jangling bells of commercial Christmas!
