By Rob Hurtgen

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the celebration of Advent. Advent means "coming," and it is used to mark the coming of the Christ child. Advent usually begins the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and is celebrated through Christmas Eve.

Each week, some, but not all, Christians in their homes and churches use Advent wreaths, on which they light one candle to mark the expected arrival of the Christ child.

Four candles are lit until finally, on Christmas Eve, the fifth candle -- the Christ candle in the center of the wreath -- is lit, marking the arriving of Christ.

Another way to celebrate Advent is to use an Advent calendar. Advent calendars are fun because many have little doors that are opened, one each day through December, revealing a prize behind the door. Often the prize is a simple piece of chocolate or hard candy. But if you were the one who was chosen to open the door that day, it meant you, and not your siblings, got the candy. They would have to wait their turn, and you would have to wait for your next turn.

Doors, no matter their size, matter.

Doors are to be passed through.

One of my daughters loves "Alice in Wonderland."

To fit through a door, Alice must eat a small bite of cake to shrink down so she can fit through it to follow the White Rabbit. It is only when she passes through the door that her real adventures in Wonderland start. Passing through doors is the beginning of a new adventure.

Doors in the Bible and other literature often represent an opportunity. Maybe someone has said to you, "I'm praying for an open door," meaning they are praying for an opportunity, or, "That door closed a long time ago," meaning an opportunity no longer exists. Someone who is trying to see the launch of an opportunity might say, "I just want to get a foothold in the door."

Doors often represent opportunities lost or gained.

Jesus, in John 10:9, identifies himself as a door. He says passing through him, as the door, is both the beginnings of a new life and the opportunity to know God's presence.

Jesus, the Christ child, came to be a door to be experienced, not just remembered by opening one on a calendar.