Journey to Christmas

One year in late November, the author, a mother of two school-aged children, decided to keep a journal chronicling the Christmas season, starting with the first Sunday of Advent and ending with Epiphany. She was interested in recording the mundane activities of each day, as well as her various preparations for Christmas. She also wanted to record her thoughts about what spiritual meanings, if any, these seasonal preparations held. Above all, she yearned to come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of Jesus's birth.

She thought of these first days of the Christmas season as the start of a journey she was embarking on. She wondered if she would encounter many obstacles along the way--ones that would ultimately cause her to feel relieved that the holidays were over. Or, on her journey, would she find the meaning she had been searching for all along?