Advent

What is Advent? Where did it come from?

The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus. It is four weeks of preparation for the Christmas celebration and the second coming of Jesus. In the Eastern Churches, the Nativity Fast starts 40 days before Christmas. 

The first record of the Nativity Fast was during Bishop Perpetuus of Tours (462-490), and the Council of Tours mentioned an Advent in 567.

The traditional color for Advent is violet, but Protestant denominations use blue or purple. The fourth Sunday is rose-colored Vestments and candles.

Christian homes use a wreath with four candles, three violet and one rose color. However, some use white candles.

The tradition began in the 19th century but was rooted in the 16th. In the 16th, the wreath was made of fir tree branches with 24 candles to represent the 24 days before Christmas. That became awkward, so it was changed to four candles for four weeks.

The first candle symbolizes hope, the second is for peace, the third is for joy, and the last candle is for love.

The Advent calendar has 24 openings, so one can be opened each day beginning December 1.  Tradition says the calendar idea began in Munich, Germany, in the 19th century. A mother grew tired of her children's endless questions, "How long before Christmas?" The first commercial calendars were printed in Germany in 1851.