Merry Christmas, everyone! The temperature is dropping outside, and overall, it is feeling more and more like the Christmas season every day. I thought I would write a post about a special tradition that is observed by many Christians all over the world. I am speaking of Advent.
The word "Advent" means "to wait for", and by observing Advent, we are awaiting Christmas day, a time that is set aside to remember God's plan for our redemption.
 Advent is observed in many different ways, and this year, we are going through it with the book titled Hallelujah, written by Cindy Rollins. Every night we gather together as a family and light the Advent candle, sing a Christmas hymn, read several scriptures from the Bible, and then listen to several selected pieces of music from Handel's Messiah.
Handel's Messiah is a Baroque oratorio, a lengthy piece of music, that consists of many instruments, and a full choir. Unlike an opera, that is more of a drama which includes acting and props, an oratorio is a musical selection which focuses on a sacred topic such as the Bible. It does not include acting or props.
The music is divided into 3 different styles, the recitative, the chorus and the air. So, let's talk a little bit about each of these three styles of music.
The Recitative
The first style is called the recitative. It is usually just one voice, and more focused on the text, and what the words are talking about, than the actual music. It is trying to portray one scripture from the Bible in particular, and only has one or two phrases that are repeated many times over again in that segment.
The Air
Similar to the recitative, the air is also focused on the words, but unlike the recitative, the Air is much more expressive, and there is much more of a dramatic feel about it.
The Chorus
The chorus is the third style. The chorus is completely different from either the air or the recitative. It incorporates all of the voices of the choir, ( Alto, Soprano, Tenor, and Bass) but while focusing on the music, it also focuses on the lyrical movement. The chorus is usually a part of the music that is very expressive, and pleasing to our ear.
The Messiah has many recitatives, choruses, and airs, spread throughout the whole of the music. In all it is about two and a half hours, but we listen to it in segments all throughout the month of December.
The scripture that we read is from different parts of the Bible that prophesy the birth of Jesus. It is really amazing to read how Jesus' birth is prophesied hundreds of years before he was born.
I really enjoy Advent because it reminds us why we celebrate Christmas, and keeps our eyes focused on what is true, lovely, and pure.