Advent, the Christian season of preparation, begins around four weeks before Christmas Day. The First Sunday of Advent occurs on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Andrew on 30 November. This means that the beginning of Advent is a movable feast.
Cloudstreet river – what a backdrop for Christmas lunch!
‘Will you look at us by the river! The whole restless mob of us on spread blankets in the dreamy briny sunshine skylarking and chiacking about for one day, one clear, clean, sweet day in a good world in the midst of our living. Yachts run before an unfelt guest, with bagnecked pelicans riding above them, the city their twitching backdrop, all blocks and points of mirror light down to the water’s edge.’
Tim Winton Cloudstreet
Once upon a time my children and their families came to my house every year for Christmas lunch. Sometimes there have been as many as thirty or more of us, including my grandchildren. It worked well. In the last few years, though, we’ve begun to rotate to different homes for the celebration. Continue reading
Tragic events over the past couple of weeks have saddened and bewildered all Australians. For a variety of other reasons, this Christmas season will be a painful or difficult time for many people.
Perhaps the first Christmas was not all that different. Below is another version of the old familiar Christmas story.
