Advent originally means "to come", even more to "arrive". In Christianity, Advent describes the time between the first of the last four Sundays before December 24th until Christmas Day, during which one is occupied with reflections, meditative retreats, and customs that generate light and hope for the community. In Western Christianity, the first Sunday in Advent is the first Sunday of the ecclestical year. What many do not know: The fasting period before Easter, the last 6 weeks before Easter Vigil, is also considered as "Advent" season. Because on both occasions one prepares for a new beginning - for the birth or rebirth of Jesus Christ. Some Christians also practice fasting rituals in the run-up to Christmas. Fasting is seen in many religions as a grateful ritual to find one's inner focus and to prepare for a new beginning.

The time before Christmas and the time before Easter have one more thing in common: many rituals that we know today in Advent and Easter (including Carnival as the prelude to Easter) were already practiced in pre-Christian times to reduce the harshness of the dark and to be able to withstand the cold season in the northern hemisphere. It is also no coincidence that Christmas and Easter, the two most important festive days in Christianity, are linked to the winter solstice and the spring solstice.

And so in Advent before Christmas and before Easter it is always about the cycle of the end and about a new beginning, of pain and hope, of retreat and departure, of letting go and arriving.

I promise, on this Advent blog there will be no platitudes about our depraved consumer society, which is trampling on this special time. More likely, what chance the currently omnipresent pandemic opens up to deal with saying goodbye and starting over the "New Normal".

The topic of Advent has been in my mind for a long time, because it offers so many impulses to become aware of one's inner transformation potential, to connect with inner and outer drives, to approach change with mindfulness and commitment, to let go of the old, allow new impulses to arise, to endure contradictions such as the end and the beginning, develop your own ideas and create a new beginning yourself with increased self-confidence and responsibility.

So, let's all set out to tackle our own change and arrive at the new - day after day, door by door in our transformation advent calendar ...