Advent is here!

When I was a kid, my family observed advent even as we were writing our Christmas lists and dreaming of Christmas morning. I have great happy memories of the traditions we shared, which all flowed from our Catholic faith. Each year we brought out the Advent calendar, and it really did fill me with anticipation, waiting for another day to come so we could open another paper door. On Saturday nights at dinner, we would pray from a little Advent wreath booklet that our parish had given out, and each week it would someone's turn to light the appropriate candles.
Now at our own home, we are opening a door a day on the Advent calendar that was given out to the parents at last month's GOF, our blue books are on our bedside stands, and we have the wreath up in our dining room. But there are so many new-fangled ways to celebrate and pray through Advent, even online. Here are some of our favorites:

• American Catholic has a great Frequently Asked Questions page up, with all you want to know about Advent there.
• If that's too much reading for you, here are the top ten things to know about Advent, just to pique your interest!
• Beliefnet has a nifty Advent Calendar up with interesting facts, some challenges, and other activities for adults.
• The US Conference of Catholic Bishops offers this online Advent calendar, a great place to check in every day from your desk!
• St. Margaret Mary Parish in Naperville, IL is famous for its online Advent calendar - it's a great one to visit with your kids!
• There are so many great places to visit online to make your Advent journey a special one, but one of the best places to visit is our chapel, for daily Mass at 6:30 AM or anytime during the day (until around 2:00) to visit with the Lord. We'll save a seat for you!