Advent

Advent, a season of four Sundays, opens the church year. The season begins on the Sunday closest to Saint Andrew's Day, November 30. The observance of Advent originated in France during the 4th century. The duration of the season varied from four to seven weeks until the Bishop of Rome in the 6th century set the season at four weeks. In ancient times Advent was strictly observed: every Christian was required to attend church services and fast daily.

The word, Advent, consists of two Latin words: ad - venire, "To come to." Advent's message is that God in Christ is coming to the world. This coming may be:

1.A past experience. God did come in Christ at Christmas. The prophets' promise was fulfilled in the Christ child.  

2.A present experience. God may come to you this Christmas in terms of re-birth, either for the first time, or a renewed birth in deeper dimensions of reality.  

3.A future experience. Christ will return unpredictably at the end of the world. "He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead."

This is the Advent symbol of Jesus from Revelations 1:8 and 22:13: "I am the alpha and the omega [the first and the last, the beginning and the end], says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  The first symbol is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, while the second is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega.  Not only does this symbolize the One who has come and will come again, it also emphasizes the continuity of God's work in history throughout both the Old and the New Testaments.

The Message of Advent 

Since Advent promises the sure coming of the Lord, its message is "prepare". The Lord is coming whether the world is ready or not. For those unprepared, his coming means judgment. For those ready for his coming, it means salvation.

How does Advent suggest that we prepare?

1.Repentance - forsake the sins of the world for a godly way of life.  

2.Prayer - pray for the coming of Christ, for he shall save.  

3.Patience - his coming may be delayed. Watch and wait, for his coming may be sudden.

The Mood of Advent

1.Expressed in colour

The mood of Advent is expressed in the liturgical colour, violet. It depicts a feeling of quiet dignity, royalty, and repentance. Violet was the traditional colour of a king's robe; the coming Christ is King of kings. Advent, like Lent, is a time for solemn and sober thought about one's sins leading to repentance. It denotes a quiet time for watching, waiting, and praying for Christ to come again, either personally or universally. An alternate colour for Advent is blue, the colour of hope.  

2.Solemnity and sobriety

Advent is a time to become aware of one's sins. Traditionally Advent is a penitential season, originally known as the "Winter Lent". This mood of sobriety is expressed not only in the liturgical colour, violet, but in the music of Advent hymns like "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". During Advent choirs may omit processionals or have "silent processionals". Weddings in this season are discouraged. Christmas carols and decorations are often delayed until Christmas eve.  

3.Joy in hope

Advent stresses not so much fulfillment as anticipation of fulfillment: the Lord is coming! Christians have great expectations of Christ's coming again. As a family looks forward to a son returning from a war and as a bride anticipates her wedding day, so a Christian looks forward with joy to Christ's coming. Yet, this is a different kind of joy - a joy of hope amid solemnity. It is the quiet joy of anticipation and not the joy of celebration of a past event. This type of joy is expressed in the Advent hymn: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel...Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

The Observance of Advent 
Increasingly the church is beginning to observe Advent seriously as a vital and necessary time of preparation for a meaningful, spiritual Christmas. This observance is expressed in various ways:

• Use of an Advent wreath in the church and homes.
• Use of an Advent calendar for children in the home.
• Discouragement of weddings and pre-Christmas parties.
• Use of Advent hymns, prayers, and anthems throughout Advent.
• Silent processionals during Advent.
• Special mid-week Advent services.
• Use of Advent symbols: Messianic rose, Tau cross, etc.
• Preparation of Chrismons for decorating the Christmas tree.

Symbolism of the Advent Wreath

There are four candles in the Advent Wreath. The first candle is the Prophecy candle, announcing the period of waiting. The second candle is the Bethlehem Candle, symbolic of the preparations being made to receive and to cradle the Christ child. The third is the Shepherd's Candle, which typifies the act of sharing Christ. This third candle is usually a pink colour for joy. The fourth candle is the Angels' candle of love and final coming.

Traditionally the four candles have been white, but sometimes candles of the royal colour of violet (or blue) are used and, as mentioned above, often the Shepherd's candle is pink. When the four candles are white, there is often a red candle placed in the centre of these four to be lighted on Christmas Eve. If the candles are the violet (or blue) colour, this centre candle may be white. This centre candle is the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas Eve to remind us that Christ is the light of the world.

The wreath is plain, without any ornamentation of ribbon or bow. The evergreen of the wreath (a spray of fir, spruce, balsam, or pine) represents the life that is found in Christ. The greens have come from the out-of-doors where nature has begun its winter sleep. Amidst the drabness of winter nature, the evergreen branch symbolizes the continuation of life. In the home it is placed on a central table or near the hearth. In the church it is sometimes suspended above the altar or set on a high pedestal resting on the floor.   

Acknowledgements:
     Text adapted from Emmanuel Lutheran Church 
       Image in box  and associated text from Christian Resource Institute