The Tradition of Advent
Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas. There are three meanings of 'coming' that Christians describe in Advent. The first, and most thought of, happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus came into the world as a baby to live as a man and die for us. The second can happen now as Jesus wants to come into our lives now. And the third will happen in the future when Jesus comes back to the world as King and Judge, not a baby.
Advent Sunday can be from the 27th November (which it was in 2016) to the 3rd December (which it was in 2017). Advent only starts on the 1st December when Christmas Day is on a Wednesday (which happened in 2019)!
No one is really sure when Advent was first celebrated but it dates back to at least 567 when monks were ordered to fast during December leading up to Christmas. Some people fast (don't eat anything) during advent to help them concentrate on preparing to celebrate Jesus's coming. In many Orthodox and Eastern Catholics Churches, Advent lasts for 40 days and starts on November 15th and is also called the Nativity Fast. (Advent also starts on November 15th in Celtic Christianity.) Orthodox Christians often don't eat meat and dairy during Advent, and depending on the day, also olive oil, wine and fish.
In medieval and pre-medieval times, in parts of England, there was an early form of Nativity scenes called 'advent images' or a 'vessel cup'. They were a box, often with a glass lid that was covered with a white napkin, that contained two dolls representing Mary and the baby Jesus. The box was decorated with ribbons and flowers (and sometimes apples). They were carried around from door to door. It was thought to be very unlucky if you haven't seen a box before Christmas Eve. People paid the box carriers a halfpenny to see the box.
There are some Christmas Carols that are really Advent Carols. These include 'People Look East', 'Come, thou long expected Jesus', 'Lo! He comes, with clouds descending' and perhaps the most popular Advent song 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel!'.
There are several ways that Advent is counted down but the most common is by a calendar or candles.
Advent Calendars
There are many types of calendars used in different countries. The most common ones in the are made of paper or card with 24 or 25 little windows on. A window is opened on every day in December and a Christmas picture or message is displayed underneath. Paper calendars were first popular in Germany in the early 1900s, although people made their own ones from the 1850s. There's a debate about exactly where and when the first mass produced calendar was printed but it was in the first decade of the 1900s. The most famous and popular early maker of printed Advent calendars was a German printer called Gerhard Lang. His first calendars consisted of two sheets, a 'back' piece of card with the numbers 1 to 24 printed on it and a separate sheet of pictures which you could cut out and stick onto the numbers each day. The first calendars with 'doors' were made in Germany in the 1920s. During World War II, the production of Advent calendars stopped due to a shortage of cardboard.
When they were first made, scenes from the Christmas Story and other Christmas images were used, such as snowmen and robins, but now many calendars are made in the themes of toys, television programmes and sports clubs. The first record of an Advent calendar, in the UK, was in 1956. The first calendar with chocolate in it was made in 1958; and in the UK Cadbury's made their first chocolate calendar in 1971. However, they didn't sell very many to start with. Chocolate calendars really only became popular in the 1980s.
Some European countries such as Germany use a wreath of fir with 24 bags or boxes hanging from it. In each box or bag there is a little present for each day.
The world's largest advent calendar was made in 2007 at the St Pancras Train Station in London, England. It was 71m tall and 23m wide and celebrated the refurbishment of the station. The most expensive advent calendar ever was made in 2010 by a jewellers in Belgium. It was made of 24 glass tubes each containing some diamonds and silver! It was worth about $3.3 million (€2.5 million | £2.1 million)!
This year the Church of England have launched their "At the Heart of Christmas" app which features daily relections with audio, and a family activity Advent Calendar. Download yours here
There are two types of candle(s) that are used to count down to Christmas Day in Advent. The first looks like a normal candle, but has the days up to Christmas Day marked down the candle. On the first of December the candle is lit and burnt down to the first line on the candle. The same is done every day and then the rest of the candle is burnt on Christmas day. Lutheran Churches in Scandinavia used 24 little candles to count down through December from the 1700s.
An Advent Wreath is another form of candles that are used to count down Advent. These are often used in Churches rather than in people's homes. The wreath is often made up of a wreath of greenery and has four candles round the outside and one in the middle or in a separate place. Sometimes a more traditional candelabra is used to display the five candles.
Each candle and therefore each week has a different theme:
Week One: Gods people - the candle of Hope
Week Two: The Prophets - the candle of Peace
Week Three: John the Baptist - the candle of Love
Week Four: The Blessed Vigin Mary - the candle of Joy
The candle on the Advent Wreath are usually purple, the traditional colour of royality and penitence. There is one rose coloured candle that is lit on the third Sunday to represent joy and to mark the breaking of the fast. The Christ candle is always white and is larger and taller then the others and naturally is placed in the centre of the wreath.
© Copyright 2000 - 2021 James Cooper (Why Christmas?