Driving to Mass on Thanksgiving Day, many of us may have heard that WalMart, and many other retailers were open much of Thanksgiving Day, while Bass Pro Shops in NY were holding camp outs on Thanksgiving night for those shoppers wanting a front row position as the doors opened before sunrise on Black Friday. Stories abound about Black Friday and the many stores offering sales and early morning hours for folks to get the best deals they can.
While this is nothing particularly earth shattering or new in our culture – most stores are open on Sunday’s and don’t think twice about it — it raises the question of whether we are losing touch with the importance of the season that Thanksgiving precedes — Advent and then Christmas.
In today’s culture, with all the focus on shopping deals, store hours, etc, one has to wonder are we losing Advent?
First Things has a terrific piece on the subject here. And, in the spirit of Advent, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has dedicated a web site to Advent that offers a number of terrific ways to prepare for the coming of Our Lord, and Our Sunday Visitor proposes some things we can do with our families to, at least in some small way, bring back the true spirit of Advent.
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