A little boy was once asked what Advent means, and giving it a thought for a while, he answered “it is a time of shopping for Christmas”. While the answer this little boy gave is not absolutely correct, it is not also out rightly wrong because part of the preparation for Christmas also includes shopping, and since we say advent is a time of preparing for Christmas, the birth of Christ, perhaps what we shop for, the things we add into our spiritual cart determines how well we understand what Christmas is, and the season of Advent.
One of the gods of the Ancient Roman Mythology is Janus, he is generally acclaimed as the god of doors, gates, and transition. Others have described him as the god of fresh starts, new beginnings; little wonder the name of the first month of year, January is a derivative from the Roman god Janus. One outstanding feature of this Roman god is that it has one head with two faces looking in opposite directions; with the youthful face gazing into the future, while the older face is looking into the past. Since we are also looking in two directions at the start of the Church’s new Liturgical year, we might use this image as an analogy to describe the advent season. We look back to the over two thousand years since the birth of Jesus; and we look forward to his second coming – Parousia.
The four-week period leading up to Christmas, the Advent season commemorate the expectation and arrival of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The word “advent” is from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” In addition to the commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas, we also celebrate the new life that results from accepting him anew as our saviour, and then the expectation that he will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. Simply put, we can say the Advent season is preparation for the threefold celebration of the comings of Christ, his coming in history, his coming in mystery, and his coming in majesty.
To better understand this classification, we can say the coming in history is the past when we recall his first coming over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, this is what we celebrate at Christmas. His coming in mystery is the present coming of Jesus, as he continues to come to us on a daily basis, in his word and the Eucharist, even in the ordinary events of our daily lives; the question is if we recognise him. And finally, His coming in majesty speaks of the future which is the second coming of Christ, when he will come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. There are beautiful and rich traditions behind the celebration of Advent. Let us take a deeper look at the focus and themes of each week of Advent, and some of the traditions celebrated worldwide during the Advent season.
One of the first allusions to a period of preparation leading up to Christmas may be found in St. Athanasius’ writings from the fourth century, albeit the methods and duration of this period differed across the Eastern and the Western Churches. While the Eastern Orthodox Church stressed fasting and penance during this period, the Western Church, particularly in Rome, set the framework for what is now known as Advent. By the late fifth century, Pope St. Gregory the Great had played a key role in establishing Advent as a unique liturgical season lasting five to six weeks, depending on the proximity of the Feast of St. Andrew (November 30) and Christmas. During this time, it became customary to focus on themes such as Christ’s Second Coming, the Last Judgement, and the Nativity, drawing a nexus between the past, present and the future aspects of Christ’s coming.
The Advent wreath, a prominent symbol of the season, was said to have originated from Germany during the 16th Century when a Lutheran missionary created a wreath out of the wheel of a cart. The wreath, usually formed of evergreen branches, has four candles, one for each week of Advent, and fifth candle, the Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve. The wreath being made from evergreen branches symbolises the everlasting life in the midst of winter and death as the evergreen is continuously green.
The circle reminds us of God’s unending love and the eternal life He makes possible. The Advent candles correspond to the themes of each week of advent. Churches begin lighting a candle on the first Sunday of advent, and they light another candle each subsequent Sunday, until Christmas. The first candle which is a purple coloured candle symbolises hope and is called the “Prophet’s Candle.”
The prophets of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, waited in hope for the Messiah’s arrival. The second candle which is also purple, represents faith and is called “Bethlehem’s Candle.” Micah had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, which is also the birthplace of King David. The third candle which is a rose coloured candle, symbolises joy and is called the “Shepherd’s Candle.”
To the shepherd’s great joy, the angels announced that Jesus came for humble, unimportant people like them, too. In liturgy, the color rose signifies joy. The fourth candle which is purple, represents peace and is called the “Angel’s Candle.” The angels announced that Jesus came to bring peace – He came to bring people close to God and to each other again. The fifth candle which is a white candle and also optional, represents light and purity and is called “Christ’s Candle.”
It is placed in the middle and is lit on Christmas Day. Advent is celebrated by Christians all over the world, including Roman Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Orthodox Christians. Catholics follow a liturgical calendar for lighting the Advent wreath with specific Bible readings. Many evangelical Christians also use the Advent wreath and attend special church services, hymns, and devotional readings to prepare for Christmas.
Anglicans and Lutherans share similar practices, incorporating liturgical elements such as the lighting of Advent candles, readings from the Book of Common Prayer, and singing traditional Advent hymns. Orthodox Christians observe a longer period of fasting and spiritual reflection. While the specifics of Advent traditions may vary among Christian denominations, its central message remains universal: To prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Saviour, the true reason for the Christmas season.
