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The Church Year offers Christians the unique opportunity to participate in the Great Story of Jesus Christ and the Economy of Salvation through the liturgy and their everyday lives. The Church year is a way for Christians to sanctify and dedicate their time to God.
Advent then, is a special time of preparation and remembrance. Christians look forward with expectation to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ while being anchored in the birth of Jesus, looking back to the first coming of the Emmanuel Child. It is therefore fitting that the first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian Church year. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, the 25th of December. So, Advent is a preparation for Christmas itself – the coming of the Messiah. The word 'advent' comes from the Latin word: 'adventus' which literally means 'coming'.
As a time of preparation, Advent is a season of self-examination. Similar to Lent, Advent is also a season of fasting, penance, and alms giving, which is why it is appropriate that the liturgical colour for Advent is violet or purple. Through the liturgical colour scheme of violet or purple, Advent also reminds Christians of the reason why the Messiah came, namely to come to suffer. Pink is indeed used as a colour of joy on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Royal blue is sometimes also used during Advent as a symbol of hope.
Traditionally, each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas is dedicated to a special theme. The 1st Sunday is the Sunday of Hope. The 2nd Sunday is the Sunday of Peace. The 3rd Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday, or Joy Sunday. The last and 4th Sunday of Advent usually carries the theme of Love.
As a symbol of preparation and anticipation, Christians typically light a candle on each of these consecutive Sundays. In this way, Christians are, in a sense, counting down the days until the coming of the Messiah - Christmas Day on the 25th, when the Christ candle is traditionally lit. During Advent, many Christians make an Advent wreath. This Advent wreath is usually woven into a circle from green pine needles. The 4 Advent candles are spaced around the circle, with the Christ candle in the middle. During the church service or home worship service, the appropriate number of candles is lit each time.
These and many other practices offer Christians the opportunity to make Advent visible and tangible in their households and lives.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!