It’s a pretty solid indicator. Everyone knows that after a week of feasting on turkey in various forms, the Christmas season is closing in. Once the turkey soup has been made and the carcass hits the trash, it’s time to put the Thanksgiving dA?©cor away and string the Christmas lights.

Ready or not, it’s time for Christmas, right?

This year, you have a little more time. Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November and, depending on the calendar, this could be the last week in November, or if you’re lucky, like this year, you get an extra November week in there. So, here it is, your lucky year – more time to shop, decorate, feast, celebrate and connect with family and friends. I don’t know about you, but I need all the time I can get, and then some.

Each year, the Christmas season feels like an endurance test. For me, it’s the time of the year when special recipes are dug out of a variety of cookbooks that haven’t been opened since last Christmas. Candies and cookies are made and my kitchen endures a domestic workout known no other time of the year.

The mad search to find the best family photo taken this past year happens simultaneously: Do we even have one? Well, no, actually – we’ll dress up, take one real quick, and send it off to Snap Fish. There’s a pile of cards to be written and time is running out.

The last few years, I sent Christmas cards on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day conveys the message of love, so what’s wrong with carrying the season through the long, dark, winter months? The actual birth of Christ isn’t known, so if we spread the season out, we’d stand a greater change of hitting the right date. That works for me!

But this would be a retailer’s worst nightmare. There is a reason for all this season madness. It has everything to do with boosting year-end sales before the books close on Dec. 31 – time is winding down on the fiscal year. Buy early, shop often, entice, lure and indulge. You’re worth it. He’s worth it. You need it. They deserve it. Now’s the time, so buy, buy, buy! After all, it’s Christmas isn’t it?

Retailers have overlooked a holiday season. It’s easy to miss, because it’s a real simple, quiet season. It’s Advent. This is a period of waiting, a time to contemplate the mystery of Christ’s coming to save us. It is a time to reflect on our sinfulness, and purify our hearts so that we may become a Christ-like gift to others. It’s time to water down that turkey soup and fast rather

than feast.

The Advent wreath, made of evergreen, symbolizes God’s everlasting love that has no end. Four candles, lit the four weeks leading up to Christmas, offer prayers of hope, peace, joy and love. Once fully lit, the wreath helps us recognize that Christ is the light of the world. These four weeks are supposed to be quiet, prayerful and reflective. Christ is a gift to us. How can we be a gift to others?

Could it be that the best gifts may not come from the mall? The gift of hope, peace, joy and love are the greatest gifts of the season. Volunteering or purchasing gifts for those in need keep the season in focus, and are an answer to prayers for those searching for hope, peace, joy and love.

Advent officially ends at sundown on Christmas Eve, when Christmas season actually begins. The Christmas season lasts 12 days, ending with the celebration of Epiphany on Jan. 6.

This may be good news for shoppers: Christmas shopping can wait until after Dec. 25! You can catch all the after-Christmas sales and still celebrate an authentic Christmas. Sending Christmas cards on Valentine’s Day may be a stretch, but sending cards up until Epiphany is perfectly fine, too. How’s that for buying time?

In this busy world, time is the cherished gift. Whether you spend time volunteering for strangers, or spend quality time with family and friends, this season allows us to take stock in all that we have, and recognize our potential of what more we have to give.

Perhaps it’s time to slow down and make the season last. Shopping can wait. Happy Advent!