While the focus of Advent is looking forward to Christ’s arrival at Christmas – “Advent” comes from the Latin “adventus,” which means “arrival” – there are three additional feasts and solemnities to honor in this season. The Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 honors the saint whose story was the basis for Santa Claus. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (this year, on Dec. 9) celebrates the doctrine that Mary was conceived completely free of original sin. St. Lucy’s Day on Dec. 13 commemorates a fourth-century virgin martyr who, according to legend, brought food to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way.