Advent Begins Sunday 2nd December 2007 The start of the ...



|Advent Begins Sunday, November 29, 2015 |

|The start of the Christmas season |

|Advent is a term from the Latin word 'adventus' which means "arrival". |

|It is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christmas, the coming of Jesus to earth when he was born as a baby at Bethlehem about two thousand|

|years ago. |

|What is Advent? |

|Advent is the new year of the Christian Church and the church season that leads to Christmas Day. |

|Clergy typically wear royal purple or royal blue vestments during Advent. Many churches also include an advent wreath (sometimes called an |

|Advent ring or crown) in their Advent services. |

|The Christian year follows the life of Jesus. It begins with Advent Sunday - which is the Christian church, is 'New Year's Day'. The most |

|important day of the year will be Easter Sunday, the day on which Jesus came back to life - but before that festival, there will be other |

|special days to look forward to. At the end of Advent, there will be Jesus' birthday (Christmas Day). |

|When does Advent start? |

|Advent begins on the Sunday nearest to 30th November (St. Andrew's Day) and lasts until midnight on Christmas Eve. Advent Sunday is the first|

|of the four Sundays before the 25th December. |

|• November 29 - First Sunday of Advent 2015 |

|• December 7 - Second Sunday of Advent 2015 |

|• December 14 - Third Sunday of Advent 2015 |

|• December 21- Fourth Sunday of Advent 2015 |

|December 28- Christmas 2015 |

| |

|What happens during Advent? |

|During the season of Advent, Christians across the world prepare for the celebration of the arrival of the Lord into the world through the |

|birth of his Son Jesus Christ. Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness. It is also a time to look forward to when Jesus |

|will come a second time. |

|The beginning of Advent is when the preparations for Christmas really begin - the festive menu is planned, gifts are chosen and wrapped, |

|carols sung, cards are written and posted and houses decorated. |

|History of Advent |

|In the 5th Century, Advent began on 11 November (St Martin's Day) and took the form of a six week fast leading to Christmas. During the 6th |

|century, Advent was reduced to its current length and later the fasting was dropped. |

|The Advent Wreath is the widely recognized symbol of Advent. The wreath is made of a circle of evergreen branches laid flat to symbolize |

|eternal life. Four candles (traditionally red) stand in the circle and each one represents one of the four Sundays of Advent. In the centre of |

|the circle is a fifth candle (traditionally white), the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas Day. |

|Why is the Advent Wreath so special to Christians? |

|The circle of the wreath reminds Christians of God, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. |

|The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that Christians have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. |

|Candles on the wreath |

|Advent worship is like a journey through the Christmas story. Christians use the Advent candles to celebrate this period with one lit every |

|Sunday of Advent so that during the last week before Christmas all four candles are lit. The last central candle (which represents Christ), is |

|lit on Christmas Day. |

|Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son, Jesus. |

|There are three purple and one rose candles. (Purple dyes were one so rare and costly that they were associated with royalty; the Church has |

|long used this color around Christmas and Easter to honor Jesus.) |

|The three purple candles in the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, and love. These candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays |

|of Advent. The rose candle, which symbolizes joy, is usually lit on the third Sunday. |

|A fifth candle is placed inside the Advent wreath. This candle is lit on Christmas Day. It is white, the color associated with angels and the |

|birth of Jesus. |

|The four traditional advent themes for the four advent Sundays are: |

|God's people -The Candle of hope. |

|The old testament prophets - The Candle of Peace |

|John the Baptist - The Candle of Love |

|Mary the mother of Jesus - The Candle of Joy (a pink candle) |

|Advent Calendars |

|During Advent, some people make or buy Advent calendars as a way of counting the days to Christmas. Usually these calendars have twenty-four |

|'windows'. |

|The calendars do not necessarily start from the beginning of Advent. Advent Calendars always start on 1 December. |

|Traditional calendar windows open up to show a picture of something linked with this time of year. One may show an angel or one of the |

|shepherds who visited baby Jesus. Others may show pictures of Christmas presents, a candle or anything else to do with Christmas. The last |

|window to be opened usually shows Jesus himself, lying in a manger. |

|Popular advent calendars today usually have chocolate hidden behind each window. The theme/ picture displayed is a character from a TV show or |

|film. |

|Click here to visit our interactive advent calendar |

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