It makes sense that Henry gave me a clipping out the newspaper this past Sunday that was proclaiming a “12 days of Christmas” sale, except for the fact that it was the 12 days leading up to Christmas, not the traditional “day of Christmas and the 11 days after to Epiphany.” It also makes sense why I saw a “Do-It-Yourself-Advent-Calendar” at World Market with 12 slots for goodies. Do it yourself indeed, like renumbering the amount of days of Advent to 12 instead of around 30. 
Pink candles, Christmas trees, Chrismons, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Creches, Blue vs Purple, O Antiphons, Lectionary readings, “Is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?,” etc etc etc. This stuff is confusing, why would we expect non-disciples to get it? And at some level, why do we expect anyone to get it? These are a just few of the weird and arbitrary things that we do during Advent and Christmas. But it’s there for a reason, right? Sure, just tell me what the reason is. In the Seder meal of the Jewish Passover celebration, there is an interesting moment when children are invited to ask the gathered family, “On all other nights we…., why on this night do we….?” There’s plenty in Advent and Christmas for kids to ask about. A lot is different…more so than even Lent and Easter really. Advent and Christmas are home to some of our most elaborate and confusing traditions.
We expect people to get it because there is an assumption of discipleship. The word “disciple” in the Bible can also be translated “learner.” A disciple learns stuff, but the disciple usually learns more than just the stuff, the disciple learns the “why behind the stuff”. And a good disciple knows that the “why behind the stuff” is almost always more important than the stuff.
But today we are seeing increasing lack of discipleship. It used to be that we could rely on the vestiges and hangovers of a liturgical Christmas past to disciple our cultural landscape like one of Scrooge’s ghosts come to visit every Christmas. We used to at least be able to rely on our cultural narrative to disciple us concerning the “stuff” of Christmas if not the “why behind the stuff.” Today, the self-inflating X-wing fighter spaceship placed next to the Holy Family on your neighbor’s lawn would suggest a completely new era.
A new era, but perhaps a fun era. Many of the weird Christian Advent and Christmas traditions came from a time when Christians were seeking out ways to explain their beliefs to their neighbors and their families and maybe even themselves. Maybe the recently baptized Diogenes was like, “Hey, Flavius! This evergreen wreath represents the eternal life that I believe in, I think some candles would go great with it!” And maybe Flavius asked “why on earth would candles go with it? Wouldn’t that create an amazingly dangerous fire hazard?” “Well….Jesus is the light of the world…and stuff…”
We all have traditions, whether those be of the “complex liturgical” variety or the more cultural “Buddy the Elf” variety. Regardless, when we share those traditions, we are discipling others. So be aware as you disciple this Advent and Christmas to truly communicate to your learners what the “stuff” is, and what the “why behind the stuff” is. And the why behind the stuff should always somehow come back to Jesus.