Advent

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This article is about the Western Christian practice. For Eastern Christian practice, see Nativity Fast. For other uses,
see Advent (disambiguation).

Advent

An acolyte lighting Advent candles

Observed by Christians

Type Christian, cultural

Significance Preparation for the commemoration of the birth of

Jesus

Observances Church services, completing an Advent

calendar and Advent wreath,[1] praying through a daily

devotional,[1] erecting a Chrismon tree,[1] hanging of the

greens,[1] lighting a Christingle,[2] gift giving, family

and other social gatherings

Begins Fourth or (in the Ambrosian and Mozarabic Rites)

sixth Sunday before Christmas

2018 date 2 December

2019 date 1 December

2020 date 29 November

2021 date 28 November

Frequency Annual
 Related to Christmastide, Christmas

Eve, Annunciation, Epiphany, Epiphanytide, Baptism

of the Lord, Nativity Fast, Nativity of Jesus

Advent is a season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both
the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. The term is a
version of the Latin word meaning "coming". The term "Advent" is also used in Eastern Orthodoxy for the 40-
day Nativity Fast, which has practices different from those in the West.[3]
The Latin word adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second
Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from three different
perspectives. Philip H. Pfatteicher, formerly a professor at East Stroudsberg University, notes that "since the time
of Bernard of Clairvaux(d.1153), Christians have spoken of the three comings of Christ: in the flesh in Bethlehem, in
our hearts daily, and in glory at the end of time".[4] The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing
for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.
Advent is the beginning of the Western liturgical year. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Western Rite of
the Orthodox Church, and in the Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Methodist calendars, Advent
commences on the fourth Sunday before Christmas—the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day (30 November). It
can fall on any date between 27 November and 3 December. When Christmas Day is a Monday, Advent Sunday will
fall on its latest possible date. [5] In the Ambrosian Rite and the Mozarabic Rite of the Catholic Church, Advent
begins on the sixth Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday after St. Martin's Day (11 November).[6]
Practices associated with Advent include keeping an Advent calendar, lighting an Advent wreath, praying an
Advent daily devotional,[1] erecting a Christmas tree or a Chrismon tree,[1] lighting a Christingle,[2] as well as other
ways of preparing for Christmas, such as setting up Christmas decorations,[7][8][9] a custom that is sometimes done
liturgically through a hanging of the greens ceremony.[1][10] The equivalent of Advent in Eastern Christianity is called
the Nativity Fast, but it differs in length and observances, and does not begin the liturgical church year as it does in
the West. The Eastern Nativity Fast does not use the equivalent parousia in its preparatory services.[11]

Contents

 1History
 2Traditions
o 2.1Liturgical colours
o 2.2Music
o 2.3Fasting
o 2.4Local rites
 3Advent wreath
 4Four Sundays
 5See also
 6References
 7External links
 8Further reading

History[edit]
It is not known when the period of preparation for Christmas that is now called Advent first began – it was certainly
in existence from about 480 – and the novelty introduced by the Council of Tours of 567 was to order monks to fast
every day in the month of December until Christmas.[12] It is "impossible to claim with confidence a credible
explanation of the origin of Advent".[13]
Associated with Advent was a period of fasting, known also as the Nativity Fast or the Fast of December.[14]
Representation of Saint Perpetuus

According to Saint Gregory of Tours the celebration of Advent began in the fifth century when the
Bishop Perpetuus directed that starting with the feast of St. Martin, 11 November, until Christmas, one fasts three
times per week; this is why Advent is also named Lent of St. Martin. This practice remained limited to the diocese of
Tours until the sixth century.[15]
But the Macon council held in 581 adopted the practice in Tours and soon all France observed three days of fasting
a week from the feast of Saint Martin until Christmas. The most devout worshipers in some countries exceeded the
requirements adopted by the Council of Macon, and fasted every day of Advent. The homilies of Gregory the Great
in the late sixth century showed four weeks to the liturgical season of Advent, but without the observance of a
fast.[16] However, under Charlemagne in the ninth century, writings claim that the fast was still widely observed.
In the thirteenth century, the fast of Advent was not commonly practised although, according to Durand of Mende,
fasting was still generally observed. As quoted in the bull of canonisation of St. Louis, the zeal with which he
observed this fast was no longer a custom observed by Christians of great piety. It was then limited to the period
from Saint Andrew until Christmas Day, since the solemnity of this apostle was more universal than that of St.
Martin. When Pope Urban V ascended the papal seat in 1362, he simply forced people in his court to abstinence but
there was no question of fasting. It was then customary in Rome to observe five weeks of Advent before Christmas.
This is particularly discussed in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory. Ambrosian or Milan Liturgies have six.[citation
needed]
The Greeks show no more real consistency; Advent was an optional fast that some begin on 15 November,
while others begin on 6 December or only a few days before Christmas.[citation needed]
The liturgy of Advent remained unchanged until the Second Vatican Council, in 1963, introduced minor changes,
differentiating the spirit of Lent from that of Advent, emphasising Advent as a season of hope for Christ's coming
now as a promise of his Second Coming.[17]

Traditions[edit]

Rorate Mass in Prague Cathedral, Czech Republic

Liturgical year

Western

 Advent

 Christmastide

 Epiphanytide

 Ordinary Time

 Pre-Lent / Shrovetide

 Lent
  Holy Week

 Paschal Triduum

 Eastertide

 Pentecost

 Ordinary Time / Kingdomtide

Eastern

 Nativity Fast

 Christmastide

 Ordinary Time

 Pre-Great Lent

 Great Lent

 Eastertide

 Apostles' Fast

 Ordinary Time

East Syriac Rite

 Weeks of Annunciation

 Weeks of Epiphany

 Weeks of Great Fast

 Weeks of Resurrection

 Weeks of Apostles

 Qaita or Weeks of Summer

 Eliya-Sliba-Muse or Weeks of Eliyah, Cross and Muse

 Qudas Edta or Weeks of Dedication of Church

 v
 t
 e

The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often the preparation for the Second Coming, while also
commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. The first clear references in the Western Church to Advent
occur in the Gelasian Sacramentary, which provides Advent Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the five Sundays
preceding Christmas and for the corresponding Wednesdays and Fridays.[18] While the Sunday readings relate to the
first coming of Jesus Christ as saviour as well as to his Second Coming as judge, traditions vary in the relative
importance of penitence and expectation during the weeks in Advent.
Liturgical colours[edit]

Censing during solemn Advent vespers

See also: Liturgical colours

Since approximately the 13th century, the usual liturgical colour in Western Christianity for Advent has been
violet; Pope Innocent III declared black to be the proper colour for Advent, though Durandus of Saint-
Pourçain claims violet has preference over black.[19] The violet or purple colour is often used for hangingsaround the
church, the vestments of the clergy, and often also the tabernacle. In some Christian denominations, blue, a colour
representing hope, is an alternative liturgical colour for Advent, a custom traced to the usage of the Church of
Sweden (Lutheran) and the medieval Sarum Rite in England. In addition, the colour blue is also used in
the Mozarabic Rite (Catholic and Anglican), which dates from the 8th century. This colour is often referred to as
"Sarum blue".
The Lutheran Book of Worship lists blue as the preferred colour for Advent while the Methodist Book of Worship and
the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship identify purple or blue as appropriate for Advent. There has been an
increasing trend in Protestant churches to supplant purple with blue during Advent as it is a hopeful season of
preparation that anticipates both Bethlehem and the consummation of history in the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ.[20]
Proponents of this new liturgical trend argue that purple is traditionally associated with solemnity and somberness,
which is fitting to the repentant character of Lent. The Roman Catholic Church retains the traditional violet.[21] Blue is
not generally used in Latin Catholicism,[22] and where it does regionally, it has nothing to do with Advent specifically,
but with veneration of the Blessed Virgin.[23] However, on some occasions that are heavily associated with Advent,
such as the Rorate Mass (but not on Sundays), white is used.[citation needed]
On the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, rose may be used instead, referencing the rose used on Laetare
Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent.[24] A rose coloured candle in Western Christianity is referenced as a sign of joy
(Gaudete) lit on the third Sunday of Advent.[25]
During the Nativity Fast, red is used by Eastern Christianity, although gold is an alternative colour.[26]
Music[edit]
Main category: Advent music

Medieval manuscript of Gregorian chant setting of "Rorate Coeli"

Many churches also hold special musical events, such as Nine Lessons and Carols and singing of Handel's
Messiahoratorio. Also, the Advent Prose, an antiphonal plainsong, may be sung. The "Late Advent Weekdays", 17–
24 December, mark the singing of the Great Advent 'O antiphons'.[27] These are the daily antiphons for
the Magnificat at Vespers, or Evening Prayer (in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches) and Evensong in
Anglican churches, and mark the forthcoming birth of the Messiah. They form the basis for each verse of the popular
Advent hymn, "O come, O come, Emmanuel". German songs for Advent include "Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen"
from the 15th century and "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf", published in 1622. Johann Sebastian Bach composed
several cantatas for Advent in Weimar, from Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, to Herz und Mund und Tat
und Leben, BWV 147a, but only one more in Leipzig where he worked for the longest time, because there Advent
was a silent time which allowed cantata music only on the first of the four Sundays.
During Advent, the Gloria of the Mass is omitted, so that the return of the angels' song at Christmas has an effect of
novelty.[28]Mass compositions written especially for Lent, such as Michael Haydn's Missa tempore Quadragesimae,
in D minor for choir and organ, have no Gloria and so are appropriate for use in Advent.
Fasting[edit]
Bishop Perpetuus of Tours, who died in 490, ordered fasting three days a week from the day after Saint Martin's
Day (11 November). In the 6th century, local councils enjoined fasting on all days except Saturdays and Sundays
from Saint Martin's Day to Epiphany (the feast of baptism), a period of 56 days, but of 40 days fasting, like the fast
of Lent. It was therefore called Quadragesima Sancti Martini (Saint Martin's Lent).[6] This period of fasting was later
shortened and called "Advent" by the Church.[29]
In the Anglican and Lutheran churches this fasting rule was later relaxed. The Roman Catholic Church later
abolished the precept of fasting (at an unknown date at the latest in 1917), later, but kept Advent as a season
of penitence. In addition to fasting, dancing and similar festivities were forbidden in these traditions. On Rose
Sunday, relaxation of the fast was permitted. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches still hold the
tradition of fasting for 40 days before Christmas.
Local rites[edit]
In England, especially in the northern counties, there was a custom (now extinct) for poor women to carry around
the "Advent images", two dolls dressed to represent Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. A halfpenny coin was
expected from every one to whom these were exhibited and bad luck was thought to menace the household not
visited by the doll-bearers before Christmas Eve at the latest.[30]
In Normandy, farmers employed children under twelve to run through the fields and orchards armed with torches,
setting fire to bundles of straw, and thus it was believed driving out such vermin as were likely to damage the
crops.[31]
In Italy, among other Advent celebrations is the entry into Rome in the last days of Advent of the Calabrian pifferari,
or bagpipe players, who play before the shrines of Mary, the mother of Jesus: in Italian tradition, the shepherds
played these pipes when they came to the manger at Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant Jesus.[32]
In recent times the most common observance of Advent outside church circles has been the keeping of an advent
calendar or advent candle, with one door being opened in the calendar, or one section of the candle being burned,
on each day in December leading up to Christmas Eve. In many countries, the first day of Advent often heralds the
start of the Christmas season, with many people opting to erect their Christmas trees and Christmas decorations on
or immediately before Advent Sunday.[9]
Since 2011, an Advent labyrinth consisting of 2500 tealights has been formed for the third Saturday of Advent
in Frankfurt-Bornheim.[33][34]

Advent wreath[edit]
See also: Advent wreath

Advent wreath with three blue candles and one rose candle surrounding the central Christ Candle

Giant Advent wreath in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany

The concept of the Advent wreath originated among German Lutherans in the 16th Century.[35] However, it was not
until three centuries later that the modern Advent wreath took shape.[36] The modern Advent wreath, with its candles
representing the Sundays of Advent, originated from an 1839 initiative by Johann Hinrich Wichern, a Protestant
pastor in Germany and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor. In view of the impatience of the children he
taught as they awaited Christmas, he made a ring of wood, with nineteen small red tapers and four large white
candles. Every morning a small candle was lit, and every Sunday a large candle. Custom has retained only the large
candles.[37]
The wreath crown is traditionally made of fir tree branches knotted with a red ribbon and decorated with pine cones,
holly, laurel, and sometimes mistletoe. It is also an ancient symbol signifying several things; first of all, the crown
symbolises victory, in addition to its round form evoking the sun and its return each year. The number four
represents, in addition to the four weeks of Advent, the four seasons and the four cardinal virtues, and the green
colour is a sign of life and hope. The fir tree is a symbol of strength and laurel a symbol of victory over sin and
suffering. The latter two, with the holly, do not lose their leaves, and thus represent the eternity of God. The flames
of candles are the representation of the Christmas light approaching and bringing hope and peace, as well as the
symbol of the struggle against darkness. For Christians, this crown is also the symbol of Christ the King, the holly
recalling the crown of thorns resting on the head of Christ.
The keeping of an Advent wreath is a common practice in homes or churches. The Advent wreath is traditionally
placed on a table with four candles or, without candles, on the front door of the house as a welcome sign.[38]
The Advent wreath is adorned with candles, usually three violet or purple and one pink, the pink candle being lit on
the Third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sundayafter the opening word, Gaudete, meaning "Rejoice", of the
entrance antiphon at Mass. Some add a fifth candle (white), known as the Christ Candle, in the middle of the
wreath, to be lit on Christmas Eve or Day.[39]
The candles added to the wreath crown symbolise, in one interpretation, the great stages of salvation before the
coming of the Messiah; the first is the symbol of the forgiveness granted to Adam and Eve, the second is the symbol
of the faith of Abraham and of the patriarchs who believe in the gift of the Promised Land, the third is the symbol of
the joy of David whose lineage does not stop and also testifies to his covenant with God, and the fourth and last
candle is the symbol of the teaching of the prophets who announce a reign of justice and peace. Or they symbolise
the four stages of human history; creation, the Incarnation, the redemption of sins, and the Last Judgment.[40]
In Orthodox churches there are sometimes wreaths with six candles, in line with the six-week duration of the Nativity
Fast/Advent.
In Sweden, white candles, symbol of festivity and purity, are used in celebrating Saint Lucy's Day, 13 December,
which always falls within Advent.

Four Sundays[edit]
Main article: Advent Mass

Celtic cross at Advent in memorial garden, Bon Air Presbyterian Church, Virginia, US

Advent candles

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the readings of Mass on the Sundays of Advent have distinct themes:[39]

1. On the First Sunday (Advent Sunday), they look forward to the Second Coming of Christ.
2. On the Second Sunday, the Gospel reading recalls the preaching of John the Baptist, who came to "prepare
the way of the Lord"; the other readings have associated themes.
3. On the Third Sunday (Gaudete Sunday), the Gospel reading is again about John the Baptist, the other
readings about the joy associated with the coming of the Saviour.
4. On the Fourth Sunday, the Gospel reading is about the events involving Mary and Joseph that led directly to
the birth of Jesus, while the other readings are related to these.