The Advent of Advent
With Advent, the church year begins. Advent Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, is the closest to St. Andrews Day, November 30. Secular calendars change every year, so the date of Advent Sunday falls between November 27 and December 3. The season of Advent itself varies in length from 22 to 28 days, ending Christmas Eve.
Observance of Advent originated in France during the fourth century as a time of preparation for church membership prior to baptism on Epiphany. During the fifth century, the length of the season varied from three to seven weeks of preparation for membership or for Christmas. By the sixth century, the Romans set the season to have four Sundays, and by the eleventh century, Gregory VII decreed that the standard of Advent for the whole church would be four Sundays. During the Middle Ages, penitence was added to the emphasis on preparation. Today, the season is looked upon as a time of personal reflection and introspection - preparation through penitence, prayer and patience.
The word adventus is a translation of the Greek term parousia, often translated as "coming,” and originated from two Latin Words: ad (meaning to or toward) and venire (meaning to come), or “to come toward.” The word connotes the joyful anticipation of Christ’s coming to our world. Advent is an invitation to celebrate both our hopeful anticipation of the second coming of Christ, as well as our commemoration of the Messiah's first advent announced by Gabriel in Nazareth to Mary. We celebrate three aspects of the “coming”:
The coming of Christ in human form,
The coming of Christ in Word and Spirit, and
The second coming of Christ in glory at the end of the world.
Advent directs the church to examine the historical events surrounding Jesus’ birth, to reflect on the revelation of Christ in Scripture and to look ahead to Christ’s final return. We prepare and hope for the entrance of Christ into this world and the next. The liturgical color of Advent is either purple or blue. Purple symbolizes the dignity and royalty but also the sorrow and penitence of Christ. Blue symbolizes hope for new life.
The Advent wreath symbolizes watchfulness and anticipation as the Lord’s nativity approaches. The wreath has four outer candles, now usually purple or blue, but traditionally white. These candles have been given names. The Prophecy candle announces the period of waiting; the Bethlehem candle symbolizes the preparations being made to receive and cradle the Christ child; the Shepherd’s candle typifies the act of sharing Christ; the Angel’s candle symbolizes love and Christ’s final coming. Sometimes the candles are simply called the candles of hope, love, joy and peace. A fifth candle sits in the center of the wreath and is lit on Christmas Eve. This white candle reminds us that Christ is the light of the world. Lighting one more of the candles each week of Advent symbolizes the increasing amount of light spread to the world as Jesus’ coming approaches. The wreath is without ornamentation, and its circle represents eternity. It is evergreen (fir, spruce, balsam, or pine), representing the eternal life through Christ, God’s gift to us.
This year, our Advent celebration begins Sunday, December 1, 2024. Our Advent theme
will be "Christmas Is Here."
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