What is advent?

Quite simply, Advent is the four Sundays before Christmas. In 2007, this means that the first Sunday in Advent is December 2.

In the church calendar, Advent marks the beginning of the year. It starts with Advent and Christmas, looking at God’s gift to humans. It is followed by Lent and Easter, looking at Christ’s gift to us. This season is followed by Pentecost, celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is followed by ordinary time.

The dream behind Advent is that people will have a heightened sense of anticipation and preparation for Christmas – Christ’s first coming and for His second coming.

Traditionally, there are themes for each of the four Sundays, such as faith, love, joy, and peace. There can also be characters associated with each Sunday.

The advent wreath traditionally has four candles in a circle and one candle in the middle. The center one, lit on Christmas eve, is white and is called the Christ candle. Three of the others are one color and the fourth is a contrasting color (3 purple, one pink, for example). The odd colored one is lit on the third Sunday.

These are the basics, providing room for improvisation from group to group, from denomination to denomination. The point is to use these elements as reminders, as post-it notes for turning our thinking toward Christ.