Keeping Advent?

We are five days into Advent, and I am discovering that trying to avoid the holiday glitter and focus instead on the waiting is difficult. As long as I don't leave my house, I am in control. I do not listen to Christmas carols, I have not decorated except for an Advent wreath, and instead I am reading meditations and listening to music that keeps me in a waiting posture, reminding me of the yearning for unity, peace and a manifestation of God's Love and the breaking in of God's justice among the nations.

But wow, when I leave the house, it is tough to keep Advent. Christmas decorations all over the neighbors' yards, on the streetlights in town, Christmas music on the radio and Rudolph's horns and nose on people's cars. And then last night we went to a "Holiday Party" and the lights were spectacular. I was taken aback and it's only been five days!

I am feeling more and more counter cultural in this quest to keep Advent. How about you?