December is almost upon us. In my home, the days immediately preceding the final month of the year prompt a barrage of questions from my kids about when we will be handing out the Advent calendars for this year. When I was young, I did the same thing. My mother was a German immigrant and always got the special calendars in the mail from her family in Europe. Every day had a different chocolate treat hidden behind a little door. As a child, I never wondered what Advent was. I always focused on the annual traditions, never digging any deeper. This raises an interesting question: Where did Advent...