Thanksgiving morning dawns bright. With to-do lists in hand, I fire up the oven, pull out the cutting board, sharpen a knife, open the fridge, and start the preparations for festive cooking.
However, before I get too far into my day, I change the television channel to the Macy’s Day Parade. For as long as I can remember, the parade stands as a tradition on Thanksgiving Day. As a little girl, I remember being in my warmest pajamas, snuggled up close to the TV, glued to the parade every Thanksgiving morning. The fact that the TV was even allowed on during daylight hours signaled how special this event was to our family traditions.
By the time my children came along, the tradition continued, as it has now for my grandchildren. I’m still a kid at heart, listening to the commentators as I chop pecans, sauté green beans, and heat up ham and turkey. I always imagine I’ll see someone in the crowd that I know or see a parade member that I have met along the way.
Finally, this year some friends informed us that their son, a member of the band Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, would be atop the Solo Stove float. That got my attention. I had to stay tuned in to notice. What fun to see a familiar face among the zillions of unknown ones in the parade.
Come rain or shine, or high winds, as in 1997, the parade goes on. During the pandemic, the parade route echoed an eerie silence for no spectators were allowed. Back in 1942-1944, the balloons were deflated and donated to help the WWII efforts. Yet for the most part, the parade continues no matter the mood of the weather or the world.
Parades may look like magic to children on a festive November day, but the preparation required to pull off such a show starts a year or so before the first balloon ever soars above the well-layered crowds. Volunteers walk the route, noting potential obstacles, ensuring disasters are averted before they occur. Designs for balloons require time and approval to meet specifications that adhere to the parameters of the route. Bands and performers practice endlessly.
In 1924, the first Macy’s Christmas Parade promised a “marathon of mirth.” Floats, four bands, performers, and Central Park Zoo animals such as monkeys, camels, bears, elephants enchanted the 10,000 people who lined the route. Can you imagine the fiasco of possible disasters that could happen with live monkeys and bears atop a float???
If you couldn’t attend in person, you could listen to the radio broadcast, as the first televised broadcast wouldn’t occur until 1947. The local paper ran a mere two sentences about the parade in the following day’s paper. There was no mention of the classic balloons because there were none. Felix the Cat made his appearance in 1927, the first balloon to delight the crowds.
For 2023, the 97th year of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, 3.5 million people spilled out along the route as 16 different character balloons, 26 floats, 12 marching bands, 700 + clowns, 9 performance groups, and at least 5,000 volunteers engineered and entertained millions of television viewers such as me.
You’d think that balloons, floats, bands, clowns, and group performances would be enough to keep the crowd at home or on the streets filled with joy. Yet, throughout the broadcast, reminders rippled along that Santa was on his way.
Kids ask, “Where is Santa? When will he be here?” They stare far down the block, longing for the jolly old fellow to show up, yet he can’t be seen from any angle as the parade begins. Announcers tell where he is along the parade route, and how many blocks he still has to go before his bearded self appears in his shiny sleigh. Even the youngest among us knows that the parade might be pretty special, but what we are really all waiting for at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the main attraction: Santa.
Mamas and Papas and television commentators know that waiting is hard. It requires patience as well as enticement to count down to the final moments still to come. “Look at the dancers. Listen and marvel as the bands march. Clap your hands and swirl as the performers move.” Even so, “How long? I’m tired of waiting.” still rattles from the lips of little ones. Patience comes in short supply, doesn’t it?
When I watched the parade this year, it occurred to me that Advent occupies a similar space. We must remember what we are here to see, what we are waiting for in the long stretch of four weeks leading up to Christmas. It’s easy enough to enjoy dressing up for Christmas parties and various performances at schools, church, or in the neighborhood. It’s also easy to get to the point of overwhelm, restlessness, and forgetfulness of our main focus: Jesus.
Adventus in Latin, being the translation of parousia in Greek, means arrival. Here in Advent, we are offered ways to prepare for the arrival, the coming of Christ. We’re involved in a two-fold waiting of the ancient and the future: waiting as if we are turning back the clock into in the days pre-Christ’s birth and waiting in the now, these very days that are pre-Christ’s Second arrival. Like children awaiting the grand finale at the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade, we need ways to keep ourselves attentive as we wonder how far away these big moments are.
Around the 4th or 5th century, Advent came into being as a preparation for baptism at Epiphany, having nothing to do with Christmas whatsoever. By the 6th century, Advent was associated with the Second Coming of Christ. Then in the Middle Ages, it became connected with the first coming of Christ and the celebration of Christmas. It was a time of preparation, getting folks ready to draw close to Jesus.
At one point in history, the first two of the four weeks of Advent focused on reflection and confession in preparation for Christ coming as judge in His Second Coming. Then the last two weeks of Advent focused on Christ coming in the flesh to earth as Messiah. Such focus turns the attention to the bigger story of God. It serves as a reminder that we are between Christ’s First Coming—Incarnation/Resurrection—and His Second Coming, which will include judgement and the Restoration of all things. Waiting between such things invites us to notice how we are, where we need to prepare, and what we are waiting for in the wait.
An Advent wreath with its four candles and their themes also offers us ways to mark time in the wait. We wait with hope, with joy, with love, with peace. Christ is promised and we can count on God to be true to His word, yet waiting is not easy. Advent allows us to prepare for the wait and wait for what is prepared for us in the future.
Isaiah 40:3-5 reminds us: Preparation is vital.
A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 remind us to hope in the middle of our waiting.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
We wait for love to find us, for light to break apart the darkness.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:16-19
Then as the waiting draws to a close, we find that joy engulfs us as it did the wise men who journeyed a long way in their pilgrimage of waiting.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:10-11
Advent calendars, first created in the mid-1800s, give us yet another concrete way to turn our attention to what we cannot yet see, yet what we know is coming around the corner and down the street. Early Advent calendars often had Bible verses and small drawings depicting symbols or scenes of the promises of God and the birth of Christ.
Like a child waiting for Santa’s arrival, we long for what’s not seen and what we hope to see sooner rather than later. Like a bride preparing for and counting down the days to her marriage to her groom, Advent provides a way to prepare for what’s to come.
I want to be prepared should Christ return today, tomorrow, or the day after.
I want to be ready to celebrate Christ’s birth, as if I was there long ago and as if it is occurring right here and right now.
I long for Jesus. I long for a heart that longs for more of Jesus. I want a heart prepared for the One who is always inviting me to celebrate Who He is.
May Advent find you longing with anticipation, wondering how long you must still wait, and jumping with joy with angels, shepherds, and wise men as the Baby born in the manger becomes the best gift your heart has ever known.
For your reflection:
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- What does your heart need to prepare to celebrate Christ this Christmas?
- What does your heart need to prepare to meet Christ when He comes again?
- What helps you wait?
- What slows you down to the speed of reflectiveness and reverence?
- What Advent rhythms and traditions help you hold a holy space to prepare for Jesus who was, who is, and who is to come?
If you are looking for additional ways to wait and reflect this Advent season, I have created a downloadable Advent resource entitled, “Wait and Imagine: Visio Divina for Prayer and Journaling“.
