Celebrating Advent and Christmas

just a detail from my Christmas tree!

This month's prompt for The Peony Project's linkup is Advent.

As I may have mentioned earlier in my blog, Christmas is my absolutely FAVOURITE time of the year! I just love putting up my Christmas tree, curling up by the fireplace watching Love Actually while drinking an enormous cup of tea, and buying presents for the people I love the most.

However, this year, Christmas won't probably be nearly as magical as it usually is. My exams start on the 5th of January and I would really love to pass them... so I won't be able to spend as much time doing that kind of stuff as I always do. Also, money is kind of tight (university life, yay!) so I can't buy as many gifts as I want to.

This has made me think: I haven't been focusing on the right things through all these Christmases (is that a word?). I think it's very easy to forget what Christmas is all about.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, who came to rescue us from our own darkness. It's a celebration of hope for better days, because we are saved - we just have to follow that light. It's also a celebration of love, because there's no bigger love than the love God showed for us by giving his son to the earth. So, instead of focusing on material stuff, we should put ourselves out there and give more this season! I know this sounds kind of 'obvious', but when I look around, it's not obvious.

I must confess that a part of me is sad because I won't get in the 'spirit of Christmas' like I was used to. 

But, if that means I will enjoy my favourite holiday in a more genuine, thankful and generous way, well, that can be a good thing!

I shall end this post with a quote from my favourite Christmas movie, Love Actually:

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed— but I don’t see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of those phone calls from people on board were messages of hate or revenge, they were all messages of love.

If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around."

So, this season, let's spread the love all around! Let's look at the true meaning of Christmas and bring that love and hope to the people around us who need it most.

As I've referred earlier, this post is for The Peony Project's monthly linkup!

The Peony Project is an amazing community of women who love blogging, Jesus and each other. If you are searching for that kind of community, you're always very welcome!

love,

Mariana ♥