Advent

The Season of Advent is a special time in the Christian liturgical year. The term "Advent" actually comes from the Latin word "adventus," which means "coming" or "arrival." It's all about the anticipation and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming.

Since the 1300's, it has been common to observe Advent during the four Sundays preceding Christmas Eve. But before then, it was not uncommon to celebrate a longer Advent Season.

During Advent, one often sees an Advent wreath in churches and homes as a visual countdown to Christmas. On each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas Eve, another candle is lit and each candle represents a different theme of awaiting the coming of Jesus: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. In Catholic tradition, it is common practices to use three purple candles with one pink candle to represent joy. Since Lutheran tradition came from Catholic tradition, these colors are common amongst Lutherans. Also in Lutheran tradition, it has become quite common to use four blue candles. It is also common to include a fifth white candle, known as the "Christ Candle," which is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 

Advent is rich in symbolism and tradition. The colors of purple or blue signify preparation and penitence. For those of us in the Northern hemisphere, the shorter days and longer nights of winter illustrate the story of people enduring the darkness, and waiting on the return of light. One often hears readings and hymns that focus on the prophetic voices in the Bible foretelling the coming of the Messiah.

Why is Advent Important?

For starters, Advent serves as a mindful pause before the festive Season of Christmas (which begins on December 25 and extends to January 6th). It's a time for reflection, prayer, spiritual growth, and preparation. It helps Christians focus on the true meaning of Christmas, beyond the commercial hustle and bustle.

Also, Advent marks the beginning of the Church year, when we begin a new liturgical calendar cycle. 

What is "Extended" Advent?

Since the 1300's Advent has commonly been observed on the four Sundays preceding Christmas Eve. But before that, Advent was a time of reflection and penitence and was celebrated for 40 days (or 7 Sundays) -- quite similar to Lent. 

Many of the parishioners of Faith Lutheran Church have felt our society's momentum to extend the Christmas shopping season into almost all of our 4 weeks of Advent. In order to preserve the special nature of Advent, Faith Lutheran and many other churches have returned to the pre-1300's practice of observing a longer Advent season. This doesn't change the start of the church year (which is still officially 4 Sundays before Christmas Eve), but it gives us the time to calm ourselves and to recenter ourselves on the season of expectation, longing, and patience. 

If you want to read more about the movement to observe a longer Advent Season, please check out this article from 2015: "Reclaiming the Calm of Christmas by Expanding Advent"