Advent & Christmas 2024 ADVENT LESSONS & CAROLS
and PARISH CHRISTMAS PARTY DECEMBER 15, 2024 * 6 PM CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PAGEANT DECEMBER 22, 2024 * 10 AM CHRISTMAS EVE DECEMBER 24, 2024 * 6 PM & 10 PM CHRISTMAS DAY DECEMBER 25, 2024 * 10 AM on the patio |
Advent and Christmas mark the beginning of the Church's year. The "incarnational" seasons are reminders and celebrations of the divine desire to be "born in human likeness" (Philippians 2:7) so that God might draw us back to God's self and that we might live the Trinitarian life.
Advent Advent, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, is the first season of the Church's year. The name is derived from the Latin word for "coming" and points to the season being a time of preparation and expectation for the Lord's coming - firstly, in recollection of the nativity and, secondly, in anticipation of Christ coming again "in power and glory." The tradition of keeping Advent began as early as the 4th century CE. The liturgical color for Advent is purple or sarum blue - colors which reflect royalty. The Advent Wreath has a long tradition in Western Christianity. The best evidence suggests that its origins lay with pre-Christian Germanic peoples who used wreathes with lit candles during the cold and dark days of winter as a sign of hope in the future warmth and sunlight of Spring. Meanwhile, Scandinavians lit candles in winter around a wheel, offering prayers to their god of light to turn “the wheel of the earth” back toward the sun to restore warmth. In the Middle Ages, Christians adapted this tradition (called syncretizing) and used Advent wreathes as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas. Christ is, after all, “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God (see John 3:19-21). By 1600, Catholics and Lutherans alike had adapted formal practices surrounding the lighting of the Advent wreath. The symbolism of the Advent wreath is quite striking. The wreath, itself, is made of various evergreens which signifies continuous life. Forming the wreath in a circle, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ, The four candles (three purple and one pink) are lit successively over the four Sundays/weeks of Advent reminding us of the passage of time and deepening our anticipation. Combined with prayers and devotions, the Advent Wreath serves as a point of reflection on four key Advent themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. Christmas Christmas Day, the feast of the Incarnation, is fixed on the Christian calendar on December 25. Christmas is the remembrance of the historical event of Jesus' birth - the birth of the son of God by a human mother, Mary. Seen through filtered Christian lenses, Christmas is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Israel through their ancestors: namely, the coming of the Messiah (Christ) who would sit on the throne of David to redeem the people. Recollections of Jesus' birth (or, at least, legends surrounding it) occurred early in Christianity and were recorded with some detail in two of the four gospels (Matthew 1-2 & Luke 1-2). The date of December 25 was chosen by Pope Julius I around 350 CE, a date which spread and reached the farthest reaches of Western Christianity (Great Britain) by the 6th century CE. The liturgical color for Christmas is white or gold, colors of celebration and glorification. |