(A/N: This is a plotless meditation on the character of Galadriel and the elven perception of the Valar in which I tried, just for the sake of experimentation, to be more paratactic and less hypotactic in my sentence structure. The title comes from the Christian season of Advent, which incorporates the four Sundays preceding Christmas and is intended as a time of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the coming of Christ. Unfortunately, commercialism being what it is, many folks are only aware of the Christmas season which starts immediately after Thanksgiving and lasts until December 25.
All of the characters belong to Tolkien. Due to the multiple and contradicting stories of Galadriel and Celeborn's movements during the Second Age related in the Unfinished Tales, I have made the assumption that, at some point during the Second Age, both Galadriel and Celeborn were in Lorien with their daughter at a time when the threat posed by Sauron was not of immediate concern.)

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Advent

"But I want it to be Yule now, Mama!" Celebrían, young elfling that she was, protested to her mother. "I don't want to wait any longer!" "Yes, I know dear. Mama is tired of waiting too. Now run along and play. The less you think about Yule coming, the sooner it will come."

Galadriel sighed as she watched her baby run off. She could at least smile at that thought; no matter how much she grew and protested, Celebrían would always be Galadriel's baby. Turning back to her trees, however, her feelings of loneliness and melancholy impatience returned. The leaves were fading into winter, proof that even Galadriel, who could defy the power of Sauron, could not overcome the cycles of nature. It would be untrue to say that she ever hated Lórinand, but the autumn was most painful to her, because it reminded her of the inadequacy of her powers. If she could not save her trees from seasonal decay, how could she expect to return to the perfect lands of the west? She now knew that her exile, more than being merely self-imposed, was a ban placed by the Valar, one which she could only lift by some feat that would make them respect her. The fallen leaves and bare branches of this time of year were a constant reminder that her power, great though it was in this Middle-earth, was unequal to such a task.

So caught up was she in her thoughts that she failed to notice her husband until he had put an arm around her waist, the kind of comforting embrace that he knew she needed at the moment. Celeborn could not read souls like books as his wife did, but he could tell that Galadriel was contemplating something which depressed her, presumably her power and the role of the Valar. Thinking about such things seemed to be a recurring pattern in the days leading up to Yule.

From somewhere nearby, he heard Celebrían squeal as she played. Since Galadriel's only reaction to his presence had been to rest her head on his shoulder and enjoy his strong, silent presence, he allowed himself to think on their daughter, who was growing far too fast in her father's opinion. This year, she had figured out that the fading of the trees meant the approach of Yule and was constantly reminding others, and herself, of how wonderful it would be. Celeborn found it endearing, but he also was fully aware that others might find her more than a bit annoying.

There was, he noted, quite a similarity between mother and daughter. Both were so intent on their anticipation of Yule that neither could appreciate the wait and both were consequently getting on the nerves of those around them: Celebrían in her exuberance, Galadriel because she was so withdrawn and would often snap at those who approached her. Of course, Celebrían was anticipating the feast and the dancing and the exchange of presents while Galadriel wanted to enjoy the distraction of the celebration, during which she would drink more wine than was probably prudent and start convincing herself that the next year was the one in which she would finally figure out how she was going to get back to Valinor before, much to their daughter's disgust, she would have an extended session of liplocking with Celeborn on the dance floor.

These were the worst years for her, he thought. Sauron was present but offered no immediate threat. There was little she or anyone else could do against him, but at the same time the likelihood that he was actively working on some plot to succeed where his master had failed was a concern that was constantly at the back of her mind. There would have to be more fighting with him eventually, and neither of them had any doubt that they would be at the forefront of those opposing him. That was a sign of the strength of Galadriel's character: as hopeless as she felt in the face of the ban imposed by the Valar, she never considered rebelling against them as Sauron did.

He was brought out of his musings by a small body hugging his lower body. "Guess what? Guess what, Daddy? I managed to go a whole three hours without thinking about Yule!" "Did you now?" Celeborn asked as he picked her up. He knew for a fact that she had mentioned the holiday to him less than two hours before, but he felt no reason to burst her bubble. "Yes, yes I did. But then I thought of it again and now I can't wait for Yule and I wish it wasn't such a long wait and…" she gasped for breath and Celeborn decided to interrupt, hoping that he could perhaps use Celebrían's enthusiasm to break his wife's sadness.

"So tell me, daughter, why are you so excited about Yule?" he asked her matter-of-factly. "You know that, Daddy. Because I get presents, and there's lots of good food, and there's dancing, and presents…" "Yes, but Yule isn't the only time of year you get presents, and we have feasts fairly often, and we even dance occasionally…" "Yes, but at Yule we do all of those in one night, and I wish it were tonight!" "So tell me, Celebrían, why do we do all those things at Yule?" "Because it's Yule!" "So why is Yule the biggest celebration and not, say, Midyear's?" "Ummm…"

"Because Yule is our opportunity to celebrate everything that the grace of the Valar has brought us. Without the grace of Yavanna, we would not have enough food to have a Yule feast or even eat at all. Without Nessa, dancing would not be any fun at all, even for you with all your energy. Without Irmo, you would have nightmares all the time and never any good dreams, and that wouldn't be very fun, now would it?" "No, Daddy." "Even though they are very far away, the Valar are still active and present in the world, and we have all the good things we have because they still love us and neither they nor Ilúvatar have forgotten us."

Though he continued addressing his daughter, he hoped that his still-silent wife realized that this was for her as well. "You know how, when you do something bad, your mother and I may be mad at you, but we still love you and don't forget you?" Celebrían nodded solemnly. "The Valar are like that with us. Even if we haven't been good, they still remember us. You can tell just by looking at all the good things around you. So that's how you should use the time before Yule. Prepare for the celebration by thinking about all the things you have to celebrate. It'll keep you from thinking about Yule so much and make it an even happier occasion when it does come."

"I will!" Celebrían exclaimed as Celeborn let her down. "I'll want regular reports" he called after her as she ran off. Watching the retreating form, he hugged his wife closer to him and warned her "That goes for you too, love. I won't have you moping around between now and Yule."

Galadriel gave her husband a thin smile. "That's easy for you to say. You weren't born in the Undying Lands. You haven't watched another year go by without returning."

"That's true, but I did watch another year go by with my two favorite women. On that basis alone, I have more than enough reason to be happy. And so should you. You can't live in the past, nor can you simply wish for the future to come more quickly, whether it is Celebrían wanting Yule to come sooner or you trying to hasten your return into the west. The Valar are too powerful for us, dear, and we will go only when they give us the grace to do so. In the meantime, we can prepare by enjoying the present, choosing to make the most of every possible minute."

Galadriel sobbed into his chest. As much as she enjoyed partaking in activities such as those that had resulted in Celebrían, it was moments like these that she most loved her husband. He was so constant, so wise, so reassuring, and he never thought worse of her when she let her emotions show as she did now. He was right, she knew, but that didn't make her exile any easier to bear.

He seemed to read her mind. "I know it's hard. Just start with now. It isn't Yule yet, so there's still plenty of time to appreciate the last of the autumn leaves and the beautiful starkness of the bare trees. Don't look at them as signs of Yule to come or the fruitfulness of Valinor and just enjoy them for what they are."

"You're right," she told him with a kiss. She started to pull back, planning to take a walk through her trees and think on what he had said, but he did not seem inclined to let her go and, after a moment, she had lost all inclination to leave. So involved in the kiss were they that they failed to hear the pitter-patter of young steps hastening toward them.

"Mama, Daddy, I… ewww. You're supposed to wait until Yule to do that!"

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To all my reviewers: Have a joyful Advent of preparation and a most Merry Christmas (or whatever winter holiday you choose to partake in).