You know the best part of Advent and Christmas?  Cookies!  Think of it: gingerbread, peppermint, marshmallow, even those cookies that you think have chocolate chips but turn out to have raisins.  All of it!  Deeelicious! 

And the most important ritual around Christmas cookies?  Leaving a plate of them out with milk for Santa on Christmas Eve.  It’s a simple act, usually performed by excited children who can hardly sleep, but like many holiday traditions, this one has roots deeper than we might expect.  It’s a tradition that has something meaningful to say to us during Advent.

The practice became popular in the United States during the 1930s.  In the midst of the Great Depression, parents encouraged children to leave something for Santa as a way of teaching generosity even when times were hard.  The lesson?  Even if you have little, you can still find ways to give.  

The cookies weren’t really for a jolly man in a red suit; they were a symbol of kindness, gratitude, and the desire to share from whatever you had. 

Long before that, versions of this tradition existed in many cultures. Scandinavian families left food out for the flying reindeer.  Ancient Germanic communities left treats for the god Odin as he journeyed through the winter sky.   In nearly every version, people gave from what little they had as an expression of hope and goodwill.  They gave because they trusted that light would return, that goodness would prevail, and that generosity could connect heaven and earth in the darkest, coldest season of the year.

Advent is the season where the church leans into hope.  And I don’t mean the thin kind of hope that wishes everybody would just get along around the Christmas table.  I mean the deep, resilient hope that believes God’s love is breaking into the world again and again. 

Advent teaches us to prepare room in our hearts for compassion, justice, and the quiet miracle of a child born in a humble place.  It reminds us that small acts of giving, especially when the world feels anxious and divided, help usher in the light of God.

So when you or your kids leave out that plate of cookies, remember: It’s more than just nostalgia.  It is a tiny liturgy of generosity.  A child places cookies by the tree, believing that gifts will be shared, that kindness matters, and that giving is simply what we do at Christmas. 

And maybe that belief is closer to the story of Bethlehem than we realize.  After all, it’s a story of everyday people opening their doors, making space, and offering what little they have.

As we move through Advent, may we rediscover the stories behind our traditions.  May we give freely; not because we have excess, but because giving is what brings hope, peace, joy, and love alive. 

And may every cookie offered, every gift shared, and every act of kindness remind us of Christ’s birth which turns scarcity into abundance and darkness into light.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic