I am reading a wonderful book called Seasons of Grace : Reflections on the Orthodox Church Year by a terrific writer, Donna Farley. The seasons through the lense of the Liturgical year, there is nothing better. The world was created in seasons (each day something different was brought into being from nothing). We grow through the seasons, year after year, hopefully growing spirtually more mature.
I've always felt a tug of a new year on or before All Saints Day, maybe as early as the Feast of the Archangels followed by the Feast of the Guardian Angels. At least for me, it becomes a time of preparation, the time of fooling around is coming to an end, time for the good stuff to start. The season of Advent is very short. According to Donna Farley, the Orthodox begin their year on September 1st. I like that. The first major feast in this schema is the Nativity of Mary, a Feast day that is all but ignored in my church (tremendously sad to say that). The whole year should be one of preparing for the coming of Jesus, in the sense of Christmas and ultimately in His 2nd Coming or my own death,, whichever comes first.
