ver.: 26 December 2007
Watch this page grow and the links fill in as we go through the season together. Keep checking in throughout Advent, and get ready!
You can also download this as a PDF file, complete with Advent devotionals for each Sunday and Midweek in Advent, plus St. Nicholas' Day, Christmas, St. Stephen's Day, and Epiphany.
The Advent page is not a place to vent ads. There are enough of those.
The journey from Advent 1 to Epiphany unfolds as all good stories should, step by step, perhaps so we don't get too stunned by the awesome truth it bears. There's enough direct truth there to keep us on track and focused on it, and enough mystery and open room to fire the imagination -- from ordinary imaginations like mine, to great imaginations like T.S. Eliot and Dr. Seuss, to transcendent imaginations like your average 6-year old. And in 2007, it starts on December 2. That means Advent 2 is on December 9, Advent 3 is on December 16, and Advent 4 is on December 23. (The number means the week, thus Advent 2 is shorthand for "Second Sunday in Advent" or "Second Week", etc.)
The word 'advent' is Latin for 'a coming or arrival'. The idea behind it is that God came to earthly life and lived among us, which is news to stop the presses for. It's something to celebrate, rejoice, because just by being in it, God was giving the supreme blessing to the created world. But this birth led to an execution of this same God, by us on behalf of us, and then the greatest news that death will not end it all. So it's not something you just go rushing into. We need to take stock of what that baby Jesus was here for. When we go all goo-goo over the baby and the birth, the adult Jesus and His execution are also in sight.
Advent is a season of preparation. So's Lent, but it is a different kind of preparation. In Lent, each of us prepares for what happened on Good Friday (execution) and Easter (resurrection). Lent is very adult and serious, because it leads to a death; originally, Lent readied new Christian adults for baptism. In Advent, we thank God for Christ's first coming, prepare for his final coming at the end of time, and celebrate Christ's presence among us today through the Spirit. God loved and wanted to share that love. But this existence isn't well-suited for a god as such; it's too broken, evil, painful, unjust. So, to rescue the created world from this evil, God chose to come here and walk the earth, to grow up, to live the truth, and to die. The only way to start such a thing is as a baby, and the only way to be a baby is to be born. Hence Christmas. Because Christmas is centered in the new hope brought by a baby, it's a very child-oriented holiday. Because Advent leads us up to that baby, Advent is also child-oriented.
There's a time to get ready by focusing on your own sinfulness and evil, a time for personal transformation and following Christ to the cross; that's Lent. There's a time to get ready by rejoicing that our God is not far away and unfamiliar with the struggles of human life, that Christ is here right now among His followers, that God has already begun to bring in the Kingdom, and that Christ will come again to make it clear who really runs the place. That's Advent. "Lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the age", says Jesus.
Advent is a creation of the Western churches that looked to Rome as their leader. There were two main streams flowing into it. The first came out of France, during the fourth century AD, probably from Celtic monks. A period of about six weeks before Christ's Mass was used as a penitential and devotional period, a lesser Lent. The second stream came from Rome, where there was a practice of having a three-to-six week fast during which they had to come to church regularly. This was a fast before the feast of Christmas time.
The current form of Advent crystallized under Pope Gregory I, who set the current four-week length, and wrote liturgical materials for use in Advent. By the 10th century, the Celtic 'get ready' prayers and practices had been fully brought into the Roman form. Later on, the church adopted a system of liturgical colors, and Advent received a purple color not unlike Lent's. The 20th century brought a rediscovery of joy in Advent preparations; this was signaled among Protestants by using the color blue (with or without a touch of red in it).
But Advent has fallen on hard times. For most people, it's become a time to get ready for whatever you're doing with family and friends on Christmas, and not a time to get ready for the Christ child. The bigger Christmas became, the more it swallowed up Advent. In fact, whatever Christmas-y thing we think of as being done before Christmas Day is actually done in Advent. In the US, everything after Thanksgiving is now seen as a part of Christmas. The main problem is not that Christmas intrudes on Advent. The real problem is that people no longer keep their Christmas focus on Christ, and then that Christless Christmas saps Christ from Advent. Practicing Advent as a religious season may help recover Christmas, but it can't do it by itself. If you don't look to Jesus every day in every season, you'll lose Advent, Christmas, Lent, and even Easter. It'll be a tiring rush, not a loving celebration, and it'll be about family or money or image and not our loving Maker. There are even a few who are openly advocating giving up on the cultural war over the holiday, letting the world have its Christmas, and then Christians can do their thing on Epiphany. (That would bring them nearly in synch with the old-calendar Orthodox.) But that, of course, chucks Advent too, which is as lost as Christmas is becoming. Besides, each Christian has as much right as anyone else to put their stamp on the culture -- that's an important matter of freedom, and it needs to be exercised or it too will be lost.
Active Christians do special things to mark the holy purposes of the Advent season. Many churches have Wednesday night services like those during Lent, only with a lot more praise, joy, and song. Those who come are often invited to confess their sins before a priest or minister, or to join in group prayers afterward. Choirs practice music in a more-classical vein, especially Handel's Messiah. Chapels and prayer rooms open longer. In 'liturgical' churches, there's always some arguing between worship leaders and laity about whether Christmas hymns can be sung during Advent. The usual compromise is that the Christmas songs start coming in one or two Sundays before Christmas.
The primary saint of the season is Nicholas of Myra (modern Demre, Turkey), on 06 December. It was celebration of his day and his reputation for giving gifts to children which bred the name and task of Santa Claus. He apparently had very wealthy parents who died in one of the epidemics that were common back then. He got the inheritance, but started giving it away to the poor, the sick, children, and sailors. He was jailed for several years by the Emperor (as were most Christian leaders - if they weren't killed). When he was released, he was quite thin, but went right back to his giving ways. He was one of the bishops at the Council of Nicaea in 325. He died in 343 AD. Lucia (13 December) is is marked by the baking and eating of special cakes, and a celebration of all sorts of lights (partly pagan in origin). Though she was apparently Sicilian, her day is much celebrated in Scandinavia. Ambrose of Milan (07 December) was a key figure in shaping beliefs about Christ. The disciple Thomas has his day on 21 December; it's a good day to think and pray about discerning, testing, and asking questions about what is happening around us, especially what's being taught about God. The day after Christmas (26 December) is the day of the first Christian martyr, Stephen; it was placed right after Christmas amidst our joy to remind us of those who died to bring it to us. In some traditions, Stephen's feast day is when they visit extended family and friends. In the U.S., most people start their Christmas after Thanksgiving day (the fourth Thursday of November), though catalog firms and retailers try to move it up to the start of November for profit's sake. Thanksgiving Day is actually quite appropriate for Advent, even when it is a few days before the season starts. Advent is a preparation, and the best way to start preparing is with a thankful heart.
Because Christmas has become the most important holiday of all in the traditionally-Christian countries, Advent has become a preparation not just for the Christ child but also for everything else that happens Christmas day. Most people spend all four weeks of Advent (and then some!) buying or making gifts to give out for Christmas, scheduling Christmas travel, and setting up the bounties of the big Christmas meal. By the time it's over, we need a vacation from the holiday! In colder, wintry countries, Christmastime is when we celebrate what winter holds in store -- snow, skis, sleds, warm drink, icicles, glittering ice-covered trees, fires, snowmen, snowball fights, skating, and a refreshing nip in the air. Cold days can bring warm feelings.
Everyone has their favorite holiday foods. Good bread puddings are made in advance and left chilled to age so that the figs, raisins, and brandy flavors meld. A Gaelic custom is to bake cakes during the last weeks of Advent, store them, then take them out just before Christmas to spread on almond paste and/or a sweet goo such as frosting or honey. On the days before Christmas, Europeans bake plaited breads in a long oval shape, to look like a well-wrapped Christ child.
Quite possibly the most fun during Advent is found when caroling. Most caroling today is done between Advent 2 and Advent 4, far enough away from Christmas day so that people still have time for their Christmas preparations but not so far away as to miss the feel of the season. Carols are about Christmas more than Advent, and include mainly well-known hymns and popular-style songs, some of which are not at all religious (it's always been that way), and a few of which aren't all that merry (especially the medieval songs). Caroling also involves cheery greetings, a lot of walking, meeting strangers, comraderie, and simple old-style dances. It's a great way to get to know each other, learn your neighborhood, and do a lot of blissful singing. Even bad singers can carol! Just remember it's a no-grump zone. Somewhere at (or near) the end, the carolers often receive a cup of cheer - hot liquid refreshment such as apple cider with cinnamon, or cocoa with whipped cream or marshmallows, warm egg nog (spiked with rum or whisky with vanilla, nutmeg, and/or ginger), glögg (a warm spiced wine drink from Scandinavia), or espresso cappucino coffee (perhaps with light spice). I myself am partial to an orange-colored alcohol-free hot cider drink spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and dashes of nutmeg and turmeric. Usually there's finger-food and cake to go with it. That way, there are warmed bodies to go with the warm spirits and the cold weather.
A common Advent tradition is that of the Advent wreath. The wreath is made of evergreen branches with four candleholders and candles, often hung from the ceiling. Since in Advent we're waiting for the Christ child, there needs to be a ceremonial way to mark the time and make us aware of the wait. Lighting a candle reminds us of Christ as light of the world. As the candle is lit, it's customary to sing a verse or two of "O Come O Come Emmanuel". One candle is lit for each Sunday in Advent : one on the first Sunday, two on the second, and so on. Some in high-church circles frown on Advent wreaths in the sanctuary and lighting ceremonies during worship. Where that happens, those ceremonies can still be a part of how your Advent worship at home. The kids can have lots of fun making the wreath. For fire safety, it's best to put the wreath in a secure place.
In Latino countries, the days before Christmas are marked by the posada, the journey of Mary and Joseph to find shelter in the days before Jesus' birth. The people playing the roles go from house to house, being turned away at each, until a house takes them in -- with a party ready to start upon their arrival.
Another common tradition is that of decorating and blessing their Christmas tree. The Sundays before Christmas (Advent 3 or 4) are often set aside for this task. Decorations include coloured lights, balls (originally reflecting candlelight in a dazzling way), tinsel (resembling the glittering icicles found on fir trees in colder lands), chrismons (wooden or foam symbols and monograms for Christ), and on top, a star. Traditionally, the decorations stay up until Epiphany, 12 days after Christmas.
The roots of the use of trees and decorations are definitely in Europe's pre-Christian religions. The pagan customs were transformed by the early missionaries so that they express some aspect of Christian belief. Sometimes, the meaning was much the same as the pagans treasured, but drawn through Christ. In other cases, the old meaning was deliberately turned inside-out to bring further honor to God and more cause for the people to celebrate. In any case, the tradition of trees and decorations has caught on everywhere, even among non-Christian Asians who found that they really enjoy decorating for the season. Korean Christians put cotton 'snow' on their decorative trees.
Advent is also when many families start making
their own creche or manger scene. Francis of Assisi is said to
have had a role in popularizing this custom. In Poland, there
is a yearly competition on building the best one. In one modern
turn on the old tradition, the scene is not made at once, but
piece by piece, with each family member adding a piece, one a
day in front of the family, telling the significance of each
piece, until only the Christ Child and manger are missing. Then
the manger is added -- but with no baby and no straw. The baby
needs a bed of straw, so the children are asked to do good
things for others. For each such deed, they would get a straw
to add to the manger. Hopefully, by Christmas eve, there would
be a bed of straw to lay the baby Jesus figurine into.
The Moravians created the Advent star, which
symbolizes the star that led the Wise Men to Jesus, who is "the
bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). This star first
started in the 1850s near the traditional Moravian home area of
Herrnhut.
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more on the church
calendar
Advent and Christmas devotionals from Spirithome.com :
Advent 1st Sunday.
Advent 1st Midweek.
St. Nicholas' day (Dec. 6)
Advent 2nd Sunday.
Advent 2nd Midweek.
Advent 3rd Sunday.
Advent 3rd Midweek.
Advent 4th Sunday.
Christ's Mass.
Also, on other holy days :
St. Stephen's Day.
Epiphany (Jan. 6).
Lent.
Ash Wednesday.
Easter.
Pentecost.
Other good Advent and Christmas resources
:
Try these pages that touch on the themes found in Advent :
Ho! Ho!! Ho!!!! Happy Advent, Merry Christmas, and a grand New Year!
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