The Season...
Of the sacred seasons of the Church Year, Advent is the first, observed
during the first four weeks of each new Church Year leading to the festival
of Christmas. In the four weeks of Advent, familiar sights and sounds can
stir in us a Christian readiness to receive our Savior, while sharpening our
sense of the world's need for redemption and the great mystery of God's
becoming human for us.
Advent is a Latin word meaning the coming. The season of Advent is a time of
preparation. Advent helps Christian people prepare each other to receive the
promise Christ as He comes, whether at his lowly birth in history, his
mysterious coming now to the Christian community through His Word and the
Sacraments, or his triumphal coming to be our Judge at the end of time.
Early Christians in the western tradition treated the days before Christmas
in two ways: some as a time of repentance and others as a time of joyous
celebration. Christians in northern Europe viewed Advent as a time to "clean
house" spiritually in preparation for the Lord's final coming. Christians in
Rome viewed Advent more as a time of joy our remembrance of the incarnation
of God in the Christ-child.
Today these two emphases continue side by side. They give our observance of
Advent, symbols, terms and Scripture lessons that lead us to introspection
and renewal, and to exuberant joy and celebration as we travel toward
Christmas.
The Symbols...
Advent Colors. The colors of Advent are purple and blue. The ancient
tradition of purple symbolizes the Advent's emphasis on repentance, signaled
by John the Baptizer's call. More recently, the use of blue signifies hope,
as the people of God look forward to Christ's coming.
Advent Wreath. The Advent wreath is probably the most popular symbol of
Advent. It's bright candles dominate the wreath, symbols of the Light of the
World who overcomes the darkness and warms a wintry world. The candles, lit
week by week, first one, then two, three and finally four candles at a time,
most often consist of three purple or blue candles and one pink. The pink
one, lit on the third Sunday in Advent, is the "Rejoice" candle. The
sequential lighting of the wreath, whether in the center of the congregation
or the family gathering, leads us to Christmas.
Advent Calendar. Advent calendars help us count the days of Christ's birth,
giving young and old a daily reminder of where our Christian hopes lie -
with the holy child in the lowly manger.
Many people who'd feel awkward accepting an invitation to
"come to church with us" on any given Sunday will not feel that way about an
invitation to join you for special worship service at Christmas time.
+ Writing Your Christmas letter: Relate the events of the year to
God, e.g. "God blessed us with... We thank God for..."
And don't forget to include a spiritual blessing or two in your re-cap of
the events of the year.
Include a favorite verse from Scripture that "summed up" your year or
helped you to get through the year - maybe even put this verse in bold at
the top of your letter and refer to why you included it.
+ Decorating time with family: Don't forget to share your faith with
the people closest to you. Decorating the tree and house is a good time to
take time out to read the Christmas story and have each person share what
Jesus' birth means to them.
