Advent Calendar Quotes

Caravaggio was constantly diverted by the human element during burglaries. Breaking into a house during Christmas, he would become annoyed if the Advent calendar had not been opened up to the date to which it should have been.

Everywhere the air had become a vibrant yellow drum. A heavy sunlight freighted the foliage of the trees. Each leaf was a shutter about to swing back and reveal a miniature sun, one window in the immense advent calendar of nature.

Words and poetic sentiment did not change the truth of a thing. A kill was a kill, a life a life, and an executioner a murderer by any other name.

Do not pity those who are lost on the path. Pity those who reach its end, and see at last what they were seeking." - Malcador the Sigillite

Miss Winter, did you buy me a dirty Advent calendar?" He draws me closer and kisses my neck. "Of course not." I pretend to be outraged. "I made it myself.

His mother informed us that she had assumed his wife would be buying his advent calendars for him, now he was married, which came as something of a surprise to me, as I did not remember anything in our wedding vows about ‘To Be Your Bloody Mother From This Day Forth …’ I bought him a calendar the next year as a joke, but he didn’t seem to realise the joke part, going so far as to tell me that for future reference, he actually preferred a Thornton’s calendar to a Dairy Milk one, but he appreciated the thought. And so I continue to buy my forty-year-old husband an advent calendar every year, because apparently I am his mum now, and he is a spoilt child.

These special holidays give rise to various liturgical calendars that suggest we should mark our days not only with the cycles of the moon and seasons, but also with occasions to tell our children the stories of our faith community's past so that this past will have a future, and so that our ancient way and its practices will be rediscovered and renewed every year.

I started to think about his physical presence in the city, that somewhere inside the city's structure, standing or sitting, holding his arms one way or another, dressed or undressed, he was present, and Dublin was like an advent calendar concealing him behind one of its million windows.

The lights in the empty offices had reminded me of something, and I had been thinking about you, trying to imagine your house, I think, and I remembered I'd had an email from you, and at the same time I was thinking of Simon, the mystery of him, and somehow as I looked out the taxi window I started to think about his physical presence in the city, that somewhere inside the city's structure, standing or sitting, holding his arms one way or another, dressed or undressed, he was present, and Dublin was like an advent calendar concealing him behind one of its million windows...

Simon, the mystery of him, and somehow as I looked out the taxi window I started to think about his physical presence in the city, that somewhere inside the city’s structure, standing or sitting, holding his arms one way or another, dressed or undressed, he was present, and Dublin was like an advent calendar concealing him behind one of its million windows, and the quality of the air was instilled, the temperature was instilled, with his presence, and with youre mail, and with this message I was writing back to you in my head even then. The world seemed capable of including these things, and my eyes were capable, my brain was capable, of receiving and understanding them. I was tired, it was late, I was sitting half-asleep in the back of a taxi, remembering strangely that wherever I go, you are with me, and so is he, and that as long as you both live the world will be beautiful to me.

When does the year begin? Well: that rather depends: on who you are, and where. The Church kalendar – like the academic, which is hewn of the ecclesiastical – begins after the harvest-tide, with Advent, a time of preparation, light kindling and shining forth even as darkness gathers. The countryman’s calendar is governed by the rhythms of the earth, of sowing and of harvest. The angler’s year, the shooting man’s, the hunter’s, all these are in the disposition of God – or Nature, if you fancy yourself allergic to God – even as is the countryman’s.

It is almost impossible to imagine such a world today: one without books or calendars or accounts, never mind the Internet, one in which nothing has ever been documented and all the information that can be possessed is held in the minds of a few. But literacy has emerged only in the past five or six thousand years, and for most of human history this was how knowledge was stored and communicated. The advent of writing is often seen as one of the watershed developments in human history, and it can be argued that the presence or absence of writing shapes cultures in fundamental ways—some would even say it shapes consciousness itself. But even if that is too great a claim, it is certainly true that the ability to document what is known changes the way knowledge is constructed, including the kinds of information that can be transmitted and the shape that information takes.

As December dawns, most families are busy putting Christmas programs and parties on the calendar, making holiday travel plans, and purchasing Christmas gifts. Those are all wonderful things, but if your family is anything like mine, these good things can squeeze out the best thing—nurturing a longing in our hearts and our homes for a fresh sense of wonder that God has come to us in Jesus. If we do not set aside time to focus together on what God’s Word tells us about the promise of Christ, on Christmas morning we can find ourselves surrounded by mounds of torn gift wrap, our laps full of presents, but with hearts that are empty and unprepared.

December 6 is noted on Catholic calendars as the Feast of Saint Nicholas and it usually falls within the first week of Advent. In many European countries, the Feast is an even greater celebration than Christmas. It is a day to remember the saint's dedication to giving to those who really needed it, and doing it in a way that drew as little attention to himself as possible.

He felt none of that numinous awe born of emptiness and the echo of plainsong on the silent air that ancient churches could evoke. Nevertheless, he found himself closing the door more quietly than he would have done, and marvelled, as he often did, how deep-seated and lasting were the influences of his childhood, when, for a priest’s son, the year had been divided not by school terms, holidays or months, but by the church calendar: Advent, Christmas, Pentecost, the seemingly interminable Sundays after Trinity.

Look at that giant bag of peppermint Hershey’s Kisses. That is my dream right there. I could live off that for a month.” He follows my attention to the five-pound bag on display and gives a dramatic shudder. “You’re kidding.” “They’re my favorite! I can only find them this time of year, and I eat so many I get a stomachache.” Andrew turns in my arms, frowning down at me. “Are you a white chocolate evangelist?” “One hundred percent!” I laugh-yell. “Oh my God, are we having our first fight?” “I will die on the White Chocolate Is Not Chocolate hill.” “It may not be chocolate, but it is delicious.” “Wrong, Maisie,” he says in Mandrew voice. “It tastes like fake mint and ass.” “Like fake mint and ass?” I reply in outraged Maisie voice. “You’re the one who steals the crappy, plasticky chocolate from the Advent calendar.” “Well . . . it’s hard to argue with that.

The fortress that crumbles may have stood against every enemy until the last.

Ooh, let me see my one,” Megan cries, grabbing the camera from him and pressing at it wildly. My whole body tenses. Normally, I don’t mind sharing things—I even give half my advent-calendar chocolates to my brother, Tom—but my camera is different. It’s my most prized possession. It’s my safety net.

more powerful than all the armies in the world is an idea whose time is come’.

As a lawyer Travis was a fan of arguing—arguing till the original argument had been lost so far back in the tangle of discussion that it became irrelevant and all that mattered was that he was clearly right

I used to think that the fear we have of dying was tied to the fear of being forgotten. But now, I think that what we're really afraid of is the ones we love being forgotten. The ones we have both lost and carry with us.

Ruth has, that morning, opened the fifteenth window on Kate’s advent calendar. She ate the chocolate herself to save Kate’s teeth. What a good mother.

Dorn smiled, cynically and without warmth. ‘You see, there’s your old problem. You never see any fault in Him. You never push back. You never stop, think, say to yourself – is that sensible?’ He pressed his great, calloused hands together. ‘And now you have this conundrum, the greatest of your existence. You were created to be the embodiment of His will, but we can no longer discover what that is. You are His voice, but He is silent. Can you think for yourself now, captain-general? That is what’s required.

I need rituals that encourage me to embrace what is repetitive, ancient, and quiet. But what I crave is novelty and stimulation.” We could all use some help patterning our lives after what we need rather than what we crave, after what is “repetitive, ancient, and quiet” rather than what keeps us insulated from greater “Christian tradition, belief and practice.” Learning to order our lives according to the church calendar provides a significant help for correcting these tendencies

This sequence mirrors the whole story of the Church — a story of blessing and hardship, growth and persecution. The church calendar prepares us for the valleys and mountains life contains for all of us. More importantly, by focusing the major seasons of the year on the life of Christ, the church calendar teaches us that, whether we are metaphorically in times of “feasting” or “fasting,” the center of life is Jesus.

We all need something to serve. And we cannot choose what.

reward system But there’s a reward system you can use to keep yourself motivated. Here are some suggestions: Buy yourself an advent calendar, and for each day you don’t look at his profile or engage with him in any capacity, enjoy the treat for that day. If you can’t afford an advent calendar or can’t find one in the shops, make yourself a journal – on each successful day, write something amazing about yourself, and on a day where you did trip up, write something that reminds you of why you started doing this thirty-day challenge. Getting into the habit of saying nice things about yourself prepares you to become so used to compliments that you aren’t dangerously swooned when others recognise your greatness. Every ten days that pass without you breaking the rule, take yourself on a really nice solo date to an upscale bar, or your favourite club or restaurant, and imagine the room is full of men who are all waiting to be picked by you, the goddess. For even spicier results, wear something red so you feel even sexier. Getting into the habit of going out to bars and social environments alone will not just put you in a position of meeting new people, it will also quell your fear of being alone. There’s nothing more powerful than a woman who knows how to hold her own in a room full of strangers. Or, if you feel ready, each time you make it to the ten-day mark, why don’t you try practising your new confidence on your dating apps and let yourself be taken out? By the time the thirty-day window ends, you will have gone on three different dates with three new guys, which will significantly lower the hype around the man you’ve been thinking of. You never know: one of these guys could end up being far more interesting, way hotter and maybe even richer. As you get closer to the end of the thirty-day period, why not have a spa booked to mark the last day? It will be a period of reflection, relaxation, and remembering how far you’ve come within just a month of leaving a situation that could have dragged your life in a completely different direction. You deserve to meet the woman you’re destined to become: take the time to do so. Set a reminder on your phone every couple of days that says ‘It’s time to finally choose yourself for once. Don’t let him win!’ When it gets hard, ask yourself: At what point will I be the victor here? When will I finally walk away with my head held high? This must end at some point – why not now?

I know now that Christmas is a time to be together as a family, and a time to reaffirm our unconditional love for each other. It doesn’t have to be with the family you are born into. I have learned you create your family anew and by choice along the way on life’s journey. I still see Christmas through the eyes of that little girl who was bedazzled by the Advent calendar. But now I give her permission to walk through each and every door and to celebrate each day fully and completely. After all, it is a time to dream and believe in the unbelievable.

Strength is just weakness seen from another point of view.

All things repeat themselves. All lives are lived an endless number of times. The trick is to welcome that. To wish to see it come again, just as it did in the past, now and for eternity." - Constantin Valdor

Up there, wherever he is, I'll bet Horus has not aged a day. Such insects we must seem to him, our lives as fleeting as summer days. It can'be healthy. Men were not meant to last forever - not even men like him. ... This is what occurs when the mighty are immortal, Spall. Inevitable, I suppose. Ambition is poison to loyalty, in the end.

Traditionally, both Lent and Advent are penitential seasons—not times of overflowing celebrations. This is not something we have sought to cultivate at all, even though we do observe a basic church calendar, made up of what the Reformers called the five evangelical feast days. Our reluctance to adopt this kind of penitential approach to these seasons of the year is not caused by ignorance of the practice. It is a deliberate attempt to lean in the other direction. I want to present three arguments for a rejection of this practice of extended penitential observance. First, if we were to adopt this practice, we would be in worse shape than our Old Covenant brethren, who had to afflict their souls only one day out of the year. Why would the time of anticipation of salvation be so liturgically celebratory, while the times of fulfilled salvation be so liturgically glum? Instead of establishing a sense of longing, it will tend to do the reverse. Second, each penitential season keeps getting interrupted with our weekly Easters. Many who relate exciting movies they have seen to others are careful to avoid “spoilers.” Well, these feasts we have, according to God’s ordinance every seven days, spoil the penitential mood. And last, what gospel is implicitly preached by the practice of drawing out the process of repentance and forgiveness? It is a false gospel. Now I am not saying that fellow Christians who observe their church year in this way are preaching a false gospel, but I am saying that lex orandi lex credendi—the law of prayer is the law of faith, and over time, this liturgical practice will speak very loudly to our descendants. If we have the opportunity to speak to our descendants, and we do, then I want to tell them that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

One of the most important things we can learn in our celebration of Advent is the foundational truth that calendars are not silent—calendars always tell a story. Now just because a calendar tells a different story from ours does not mean the story is wrong, although it frequently is. But a competing story is always wrong (and idolatrous) when it replaces the story, the story of Christ, the story of salvation.

Not all that we can give can be held in the hand.

Skill and determination can lead a hunter only so far. After that it becomes a test of faith.

Iranians were never on TV before. Now they’re on all the time. Images of angry Iranian students shouting “Death to America” dominate the nightly news. There’s even a whole, new news show on ABC opposite The Late Show with Johnny Carson: The Iran Crisis—America Held Hostage: Day Fill in the Blank. Every day, the show’s title updates, e.g., America Held Hostage: Day Six, America Held Hostage: Day Seven. The worst advent calendar ever.

calendar.We insert the mysteries of Christ's life into the seasons and the times of the year, beginning with Advent and carry on to Pentecost, from November to June approximately. This allows us to live these mysteries in ways which give access to the full reality of resurrection. Christianity is not a new religion, it is a new form of existence. It is the introduction of the dimension of resurrection into the spatio-temporal continuum of ordinary daily life.

Remember Advent calendars?” “Can’t place it.” “That means you weren’t Catholic,” said Serge. “We’d get these cool cardboard calendars that marked off the days to Christmas, and each day you’d open a little perforated window and get a piece of chocolate. There was a lot of bribery in the Catholic Church.

With the advent Twenty20 cricket, the density of annual cricket calendar is a worrisome factor and has just gone from bad to worse! 'Thigh and hamstring strains have become clearly the most common injury in the past two years, perhaps associated with the increased amount of Twenty20 cricket...annual injury prevalence rates have exceeded 10% in the last three years, with the injury prevalence rates for fast bowlers exceeding 18%