Advent (from the Latin word , meaning "coming") is
a
season of the Western
Christian churches, the period of expectant
waiting and preparation for the celebration of the
Nativity of Jesus; in other words, the
period immediately before
Christmas. It is
the beginning of the Western
liturgical
year and commences on
Advent
Sunday, called
Levavi. The
Eastern churches' equivalent of Advent is
called the
Nativity Fast, but it
differs both in length and observances and does not begin the
church year, which starts instead on 1 September .
The progression of the season may be marked with an
Advent calendar, a practice introduced by
German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran
calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25,
the Sunday between November 27 and December 3 inclusive.
Latin is the translation of the Greek word
parousia, commonly used in reference to the
Second Coming. Christians believe that
the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting
that was done by the
Hebrews for the birth
of their
Messiah as well as the waiting that
Christians today endure for the second coming of
Christ.
Traditions
The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often to
prepare for the
Second Coming while
commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the
view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of
Jesus Christ as savior and to his second coming as judge, special
lessons are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in
Advent.
The usual liturgical color in Western Christianity for Advent is
purple or violet. The color is often used for
hangings around the church, on the
vestments of the clergy, and often also the
tabernacle. On the 3rd Sunday of
Advent,
Gaudete Sunday, rose may be
used instead, referencing the rose used on
Laetare Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent. In
some Anglican and Lutheran churches, blue is the liturgical color
for Advent, a custom traced to the usage of the
Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and the
medieval
Sarum Rite in England. This
color is often referred to as "Sarum blue". Red is used in the
Eastern churches.
.
The "Late Advent Weekdays", December 17-24, mark the singing of the
Great Advent '
O antiphons'. These are the
antiphons for the
Magnificat at
Vespers, or Evening Prayer (in the Roman Catholic
and Lutheran churches) and
Evensong in
Anglican churches each day and mark the forthcoming birth of the
Messiah. They form the basis for each verse of the popular Advent
hymn, "
O come, O come,
Emmanuel".
From the 4th century, the season was kept as a period of fasting as
strict as that of
Lent (commencing in some
localities on 11 November; this being the feast day of
St. Martin of Tours, the fast became
known as "St. Martin's Lent", "St. Martin's Fast" or the
"forty days of St. Martin"). The feast day
was in many countries a time of frolic and heavy eating, since the
40-day fast began the next day. In the
Anglican and
Lutheran churches this fasting rule was
later relaxed, with the
Roman
Catholic Church doing likewise later, but still keeping Advent
as a season of
penitence. In addition to
fasting, dancing and similar festivities were forbidden in these
traditions. The third Sunday in Lent was a
Rose Sunday, when the color of the vestments was
changed and a relaxation of the fast was permitted. The
Eastern Orthodox and
Oriental Orthodox churches still hold the
tradition of fasting for 40 days before the Nativity Feast.
In many countries Advent was long marked by diverse popular
observances, some of which still survive. In England, especially in
the northern counties, there was a custom (now extinct) for poor
women to carry around the "Advent images", two dolls dressed to
represent
Jesus and the
Blessed Virgin Mary. A halfpenny coin
was expected from every one to whom these were exhibited and bad
luck was thought to menace the household not visited by the
doll-bearers before
Christmas Eve at
the latest .
In
Normandy, farmers employed children
under twelve to run through the fields and orchards armed with
torches, setting fire to bundles of straw, and thus it is believed
driving out such vermin as are likely to damage the crops .
In
Italy
, among other Advent celebrations, is the entry into
Rome
in the last days of Advent of the Calabrian
pifferari, or bagpipe players, who play before the shrines
of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Italian tradition being that the
shepherds played these pipes when they came to the manger at Bethlehem
to pay homage to the infant Jesus . It is
the second most important tradition behind Easter for Roman
Catholics .
In recent times the commonest observance of Advent outside church
circles has been the keeping of an
advent calendar or
advent candle, with one door being opened in
the calendar, or one section of the candle being burned, on each
day in December leading up to Christmas Eve.
End of the liturgical year
In
Anglican churches the Sunday before
Advent is sometimes nicknamed
Stir-up
Sunday after the opening lines of the
Book of Common Prayer collect for that day. In the Roman Catholic Church
since 1969, and in most Anglican churches since at least 2000, the
final Sunday of the liturgical year before Advent has been
celebrated as the
Feast of
Christ the King. This feast is now also widely observed in many
Protestant churches, sometimes as the
Reign of Christ. In
consequence, the collect for the first Sunday of Advent in the
Episcopal Church USA is no longer "stir up". Since the 1979
revision of the Book of Common Prayer that collect is read on the
third Sunday of the season.
References
Book of Common Prayer, 1979 according to the usage of The Episcopal
Church
See also
External links
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