So we had Halloween, and now Christmas lights are up. A neighbour of mine already has a merry Santa waving from his rooftop. Last Sunday was Rememberance Day, Armistice Day as it was referred to when I was a child. The 11th November was also my late and only brother's birthday.
November is a time when I remember my loved ones who have departed this life, when they feel closest to me.
Halloween actually marks the threshold, and in the Christian calendar of the year it's followed by All Souls Day. Preparation for Advent and the Christmas season only begins on 'Stir-up' Sunday, which is when, traditionally, puddings and cakes are baked. The name came from the collect for the Sunday before Advent which began 'Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I managed to do the baking on Stir-up Sunday once.
But if we roll straight over into Christmas without these November days to contemplate the meaning of life while we remember the dead, surely we're missing something?
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