What is Advent Sunday and why do churches mark it?

The fourth Sunday before Christmas is named Advent Sunday. It falls initially of December, or sometimes as in 2025, at the tip of November. In churches of many denominations, Advent marks the approaching of the Christmas season. This is the story …

Meaning of Advent

In on a regular basis English, the word “advent” is used to explain the time when something starts to be adopted or on the commencement of a recent era, comparable to “the appearance of penicillin” or “the appearance of the cell phone”. The word “advent” is one in every of many words which got here into English from Latin. In Latin “Adventus” means arrival and was the liturgical run-up to Christmas.Origins

Advent has been marked for the reason that fourth century. Originally Advent was forty days long and was referred to as the “forty days of St Martin” since it began on November 11, the feast day of St Martin of Tours. Later, Advent was reduced to 4 weeks to the period we all know now.

Medieval Practice

In Pre-Reformation Europe the season of “Adventus” was a period of fasting and penance, akin to Lent before Easter. There were three days of fasting during Adventus referred to as “Ember Days”, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Fasting didn’t mean avoiding all food but was understood to mean abstinence. During Adventus people were expected to abstain from gambling, intimate relations, and unnecessary travel, and weddings weren’t allowed. On the three Ember days just one meal a day was eaten that consisted of fish or vegetables. There were general exemptions for pregnant women, children, the old, infirm, or those that were doing physical labour. Otherwise, people were expected to abstain from meat (fish was not considered meat), dairy products, fat, wine, ale, and mead, although eggs were permitted. In the medieval context, fasting helped meat supplies go further over the winter, in readiness for Christmas.

Modern Advent

Over time, Advent became less strict, and it has continued in Anglican and Lutheran contexts and evolved right into a season of joyful expectation fairly than fasting and penance. At one time Advent was only really practised in traditional denominations but has been increasingly adopted by more Free Church traditions. In evangelical traditions which mark Advent, they have an inclination to stress the biblical hope in Christ’s dual comings, and the Advent of latest life in a believer.

Liturgical Advent

For many Christians, Advent describes the liturgical season coming as much as Christmas. There are 4 Sundays within the season of Christmas. People who’re more used to Advent calendars consider Advent starting on the primary day of December. However liturgically Advent starts on the Advent Sunday which falls on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This is frequently initially of December, and is usually December 1, but it may possibly be at the tip of November. The reason for that is that Christmas Day can fall on any day of the week, which suggests that Advent Sunday may be as early as November 27, or as late as December 3. It is simply when Christmas Day is on a Wednesday that Advent starts on the primary day of December (as happened in 2024). After Advent Sunday there are three more Advent Sundays as much as Christmas Eve, referred to as the Second, Third and Fourth Sundays of Advent.

Sundays of Advent

Some churches have specific traditions and liturgies for Advent. Churches may select their very own Bible readings but many select the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. The first two Sundays sit up for the second coming of Christ (referred to as the second Advent) and the last two Sundays sit up for his Nativity (called the primary Advent). Over the course of those 4 weeks, lectionary readings start with Scriptures about Christ’s return in judgement, move onto Old Testament passages of prophecies of the approaching Messiah normally from Isaiah, after which onto the New Testament passages about John the Baptist and Christ’s arrival at Bethlehem from Matthew and Luke. Advent then ends at Christmas, either on Christmas Eve, or for churches which don’t have a service on Christmas Eve, on the morning of Christmas Day

Advent Candles

It is becoming increasingly common for churches to have an Advent wreath with five candles. This tradition began in Lutheran Germany but has spread and change into popular across many traditions. Some churches have evolved elaborate rituals for it, with assigned names and colors to the candles, and special liturgy. 

Essentially the primary candle is lit on Advent Sunday, after which the opposite candles are lit on each of the following Sundays of Advent, after which a central candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The use of candles harks back to a time before electric lighting, but symbolises Jesus as Light of the World (John 8:2), and echoes the Jewish use of the menorah at Hanukkah which Jesus would have known (John 10:22).

Readings

Common lectionary readings for Advent Sunday are Isaiah 2:1-5, which is a vision of peace; or Isaiah 64:1-9 which is a call for the Lord to come back to earth; Psalm 122, which is a nine-verse pilgrimage psalm; Romans 13:11-14, in regards to the coming of the hour of salvation; and the New Testament readings are Matthew 24:36-44 and Romans 13:11-14 that are in regards to the second coming of Christ, referred to as the Second Advent.

Collect

The Anglican collect prayer for Advent Sunday is, “Almighty God, give us grace to forged away the works of darkness and to placed on the armour of sunshine, now within the time of this mortal life, by which your Son Jesus Christ got here to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to evaluate the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who’s alive and reigns with you, within the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”