Thoughts on the Advent Season

Though Advent is past, this is great information from our Music Director, Norma:

The ADVENT Season

     Advent is the liturgical season that precedes and prepares for Christmas. It is a season of hope and of longing, of joyful expectation, and of peaceful preparation. Many symbols and traditions are associated with Advent, calendars, special Advent music, food, processions, and other traditions that may vary from one culture or region to the next. Here are a few interesting things to know about Advent:
 
When and how long is Advent?
     For most Christians, the Advent Season always begins four Sundays before Christmas.  The First Sunday of Advent, which also marks the beginning of the new liturgical year for the church, could be as early as November 27 or as late as December 3.

     The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called "Gaudete Sunday" (from Latin, meaning "Rejoice!), because the "Entrance Song" is taken from Paul's letter to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near." (Phil 4:4+5b)

     Advent technically ends on the afternoon of December 24, since that evening, Christmas Eve, begins the Christmas Season.
 

What does the word "Advent" mean?
   When capitalized, "Advent" usually refers to "the coming of Christ into the world" or to "the liturgical period preceding Christmas"; it may also refer to the "Second Coming" of Christ (the "Advent of our Lord").
 

What are the traditional colors of Advent?
   Many churches use blue instead of violet throughout Advent, although they may also use rose/pink on the Third Sunday. Other church decorations (altar cloths, banners, etc.) will often have combinations of violet, pink, and blue throughout the season. Liturgically-minded churches will avoid greens and reds (the secular Christmas colors), and will wait until the Christmas season to use decorations with white, silver, and gold colors.
 

What are the liturgical readings for the Sundays of Advent?
     Each of the four Sundays of Advent has its own special readings and characteristics:

• First Sunday of Advent - The readings look forward to the "End Times" and the coming of the "Day of the Lord" or the "Messianic Age"; the Gospel is an excerpt from the Apocalyptic Discourse of Jesus in one of the Synoptic Gospels.
• Second Sunday of Advent - The Gospel readings focus on the preaching and ministry of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus, the one who came to "Prepare the Way of the Lord."
• Third Sunday of Advent - The Gospel readings continue to focus on John the Baptist, while the first and second readings convey the joy that Christians feel with the increasing closeness of the incarnation and the world's salvation.
• Fourth Sunday of Advent - The Gospels tell of the events that immediately preceded the birth of Jesus,
• including the dreams and visions of Joseph and Mary of Nazareth.

 
Why do we not sing Christmas carols during Advent?
     Many people want to sing Christmas songs during Advent because everywhere around them, except in the church, the world is observing Christmas with lights, parties, decorations, trees, concerts, school and choir programs, radio and TV, and their own shopping. Everything seems out of sync when the church seeks to preserve the integrity and message of Advent by putting off its Christmas celebration until Christmas Eve. The question comes up every year, and most congregations have partisans on both sides. Rather than be on either extreme, our congregation is somewhere in the middle, being faithful to Advent themes and music early in the season, while gradually introducing a few Christmas hymns as Christmas approaches saving Silent Night and Away in a Manger for Christmas Eve.

Blessings,
Norma Aamodt-Nelson, Minister of Music