The Gift of the Church Year

It's Christ the King Sunday - almost. This Sunday marks the climax of the church year before we begin all over again on the first Sunday of Advent. Growing up as a Baptist, the church year was a foreign concept to me. Perhaps that's one small reason why it's so fascinating now. When incarnation becomes real, when we realize that we worship a God who is still active in our world, the church year isn't just a collection of lovely rituals. It is living history. The past is present and the future is now!

What we think of as a fixed calendar actually evolved over time - from three separate festivals - Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany - to two complete cycles:
The Paschal/Easter Cycle - telling the story of death and resurrection with Lent as a time of preparation and the great Fifty Days as a season of celebration culminating with Pentecost.
The Incarnational Cycle - telling not just the story of the birth of the Messiah, but those amazing moments when that divinity shines through humanity - the adoration of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. Ironically, in the history of evolution of the church year, the season we celebrate first was the last to be added - Advent.

If you need a reminder of the basics, here they are:
Advent: four weeks before Christmas
Christmas: 12 days of celebration between December 25 and January 5
Epiphany: January 6 and the season after leading up to Lent
Lent: 40 days of preparation for Easter - not counting the Sundays
Easter: the high holy days of Christian faith including the great Three Days - the Triduum - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday PLUS the Great Fifty Days that follow.
Pentecost: fifty days after Easter marking the coming of the Holy Spirit of power upon those first Christians and the season after leading us back to Advent

We are going to sing through the church year on Sunday - along with celebrating the gift of music. So - let me know: which season delights you best? What traditions have you known that drew you into the mystery and wonder of any of these seasons and celebrations in the gift of the church year?