Advent

The season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day (December 25th) and marks the beginning of the new Church year.

The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’. During this season, Christians not only prepare to celebrate God coming to earth through the birth of Jesus Christ, but we also remind ourselves of the promise God made to come again at the close of the age. Because Jesus’ Second Coming will take place ‘at an hour you do not expect’ (Matthew 24:44), Christians use the season of Advent to focus on being prepared to receive Christ again.

In the northern hemisphere, Advent falls during some of the shortest days of the year. As the days become shorter and darkness increases, we turn toward the light of Christ’s coming. We decorate our church sanctuary and our homes both to remind ourselves of the significance of this event and as a thanksgiving for the gift of Jesus the Christ.

Advent is a hopeful season, so the colour we use for the season is blue. Some Christian churches use purple – the same colour used during the season of Lent. Each Sunday during Advent, we light another candle on our Advent wreath , celebrating the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love.

If you would like to know more about the other seasons of the church year, click here.