Advent Burns & Advent Stings 2
An Advent Reminder from Ireland
If you frequent the forests and woodlands of Ireland you will be familiar with the holly bush. These days though, we are more likely to encounter the spiky plant in our Advent wreaths where the deep green of the leaves and bright red of the berries complement our Christmas décor.
In the earthiness of Celtic spirituality, however, holly and berries carried profound symbolic weight.
They were important to remind the early Christians that even in the midst of celebrating the birth of Christ the shadow of the cross was not far away. The sharp spines reminded them of the nails and the red berries reminded them of blood spilled.
Advent burns and Advent stings.
We could be forgiven for forgetting these sharp edges and singed hems of the Christmas story, they rarely feature in our nativity plays, and are assiduously avoided by the shrewd marketers of the season. But they are there nonetheless.
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This is an extract from the Broadcast Service.
It is also part of the Johannine Advent Synchroblog
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…and thanks for part 2, as well!