Most Christian denominations commemorate the liturgical season of Advent as a time of eager anticipation and planning for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the Second Coming of Christ. In Western Christianity, Advent marks the start of the liturgical year and is a part of the larger Christmas and holiday seasons.
The 40-day Nativity Fast, which has customs distinct from those in the West, is referred to as "Advent" in Eastern Orthodoxy as well.
Latin adventus, meaning "coming; arrival," was used to translate the Greek word parousia. This is the phrase used in the New Testament to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. As a result, the Christian calendar's Advent season looks forward to Christ's "coming" from three separate angles: his actual birth in Bethlehem, his reception in the believer's heart, and his eschatological Second Coming.
The custom of hanging greens is sometimes performed liturgically as part of an Advent ritual that also includes keeping an Advent calendar, lighting an Advent wreath, praying an Advent daily devotional, erecting a Christmas tree or Chrismon tree, lighting a Christingle, and other ways of getting ready for Christmas. The Nativity Fast, which is Eastern Christianity's version of Advent, has different lengths and rituals and doesn't mark the start of the liturgical year like it does in the West. The corresponding parousia is not used in the Eastern Nativity Fast's preparation rituals.
Advent Dates
The fourth Sunday before Christmas (always falling between 27 November and 3 December), according to the calendars of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Western Rite of the Orthodox Church, the Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, begins Advent. Christmas Eve, on December 24, marks the conclusion of Advent.
Advent officially begins in the Catholic Church's Ambrosian Rite and Mozarabic Rite on the Sunday following St. Martin's Day, which is the sixth Sunday before Christmas (11 November).
Advent History
The now-known Advent season of Christmas preparation probably dates back to around the year 480, but the Council of Tours of 567 introduced the novel idea of ordering monks to fast every day in December until Christmas. A believable origin story for Advent is "difficult to claim with certainty." Fasting, commonly referred to as the Nativity Fast or the Fast of December, was associated with Advent as a season of repentance.
Saint Gregory of Tours claims that the celebration of Advent dates back to the fifth century when Bishop Perpetuus ordered three times weekly fasting from St. Martin's Day on November 11 to Christmas. For this reason, Advent is also sometimes referred to as "Lent of St. Martin." Up until the sixth century, this practice was restricted to the diocese of Tours.
However, the practice was adopted by the Council of Macon in 581, and soon all of France observed three days of fasting every week from the feast of Saint Martin until Christmas. The most devoted worshipers in some nations went over and above the standards set by the council and fasted every day during Advent. Gregory the Great's sermons from the latter half of the sixth century indicated that the liturgical season of Advent would last four weeks without the practice of a fast. Writings from the ninth century, however, assert that the fast was still widely followed under the reign of Charlemagne.
Even though Durand of Mende claimed that fasting was still extensively maintained in the thirteenth century, the Advent fast was not widely observed. As stated in the bull of St. Louis' canonization, Christians of great piety no longer followed this fast with the fervor with which he did. Since the solemnity of this apostle was more widely observed than that of St. Martin, it was thereafter restricted to the time between his feast day and Christmas. There was no mention of fasting when Pope Urban V assumed the papal throne in 1362; instead, he simply ordered everyone in his court to abstain. In those days, five weeks of Advent were observed before Christmas in Rome. The Sacramentary of St. Gregory speaks extensively about this. The Milanese or Ambrosian liturgies have six. [Reference needed] The Greeks lack any real regularity at all; Advent was a voluntary fast that some people started on November 15 and others on December 6 or just a few days before Christmas.
Before the Second Vatican Council made a few modest alterations to the Advent liturgy, which distinguished the spirit of Advent from that of Lent and emphasized Advent as a season of hope for Christ's coming now as a promise of his Second Coming, the liturgy remained mostly intact.
Advent Traditions
The preparation for the Second Coming and the Last Judgement is frequently the subject of readings and sermons during Advent. The Gelasian Sacramentary, which offers Advent Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the five Sundays leading up to Christmas as well as the corresponding Wednesdays and Fridays, contains the first explicit references to Advent in the Western Church. While the Sunday readings discuss both Jesus Christ's first and second coming as a savior and judgment, traditions differ over the respective weights of repentance and expectation during the weeks leading up to Advent.
Advent wreath
In churches and houses, keeping an Advent wreath is a custom. In the sixteenth century, German Lutherans invented the Advent wreath. The contemporary Advent wreath didn't develop, though, for another three centuries. Johann Hinrich Wichern, a German Protestant clergyman, and pioneer in urban mission work among the poor came up with the idea for the current Advent wreath in 1839. Its candles signify each Sunday of Advent. He created a wooden ring with 19 small red tapers and 4 large white candles in response to the children he taught anxiousness as they anticipated Christmas. A little candle was lit each morning, and a larger candle was lit on Sundays. Custom has retained only the large candles.
A red ribbon is used to tie fir tree branches into a wreath crown, which is then adorned with pine cones, holly, laurel, and occasionally mistletoe. It is also a very old symbol that stands for a number of things. The crown, for example, represents triumph and, with its round shape, the sun and its annual return. The green twigs are a symbol of hope and life, and the number four stands for the four Sundays of Advent. The fir tree represents fortitude, and the laurel represents triumph over sin and suffering. The holly and the latter two, which don't lose their leaves, stand in for God's eternities. Candle flames are a representation of the coming Christmas light, which brings peace and hope, as well as a representation of the fight against darkness. The holly reminds Christians of the crown of thorns that was placed on Christ's head, making this crown a representation of Christ the King.
The third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday after the opening phrase, Gaudete, which means "Rejoice," of the entrance antiphon during Mass, is decorated with candles. Typically, three violet or purple candles and one pink candle are used. Some others add a fifth candle—a white one—in the center of the wreath, which is called the Christ Candle and is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
According to one interpretation, the candles represent the major stages of salvation prior to the advent of the Messiah: the first candle represents the forgiveness given to Adam and Eve, the second represents the faith of Abraham and the patriarchs who believe in the gift of the Promised Land, the third represents the joy of David whose lineage does not end and also bears witness to his covenant with God, and the fourth and final candle represents the teaching of the prophets. Alternatively, they represent the four eras of human history: creation, the incarnation, sin atonement, and the final judgment.
In Orthodox churches, six-candle wreaths are occasionally present to correspond with the six-week length of the Nativity Fast/Advent.
Saint Lucy's Day, which always falls on December 13 and is observed throughout Sweden, is observed with the lighting of white candles, a symbol of joy and purity.
Final Word
This is why we at Y-combinator knew this was a good time to share some of the traditions and stories that surround advent. Not everyone knows about it, so we wanted to make sure you have the full picture before Christmas arrives!
In case you are wondering where the tradition of giving gifts on Advent comes from, there is no clear answer for that. Some say it started with wealthy people and their generosity towards those less fortunate. Others say it originates from church officials who decided to celebrate Christ’s arrival more actively in light of his birth taking place during this time of year. We believe in celebrating all aspects of advent with open hearts and joyful minds.
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