What is Advent?
The word "advent" derives from the Latin word "Adventus" which means a coming or an approach. The Advent season,
which begins the Sunday nearest November 30, is one in which the Church focuses on the events leading up to the birth of Jesus.
It traces the prophecies of the Messiah, going all the way back to Genesis, and shows how Jesus was the fulfillment of all
God's plans.
Advent Calendars
An advent calendar, depending on its character, can be the most secular
of the ways to "celebrate" advent. The paper version consists of a card with twenty-four
(sometimes twenty-five) windows cut into a "cute" picture. Every day, starting December 1,
a child (or a child at heart) opens a window and supposedly this way he/she
doesn't have to ask Mommy "How many days 'til Christmas?".
While I was researching the calendars I found that there are people who actually collect
them.I don't know why I was surprised. I've been doing it for years. I just didn't mean to.
I really intended to use the calendar when I bought it but when the time came, it was just too
cute/pretty to use!
Some calendars are religious in nature - with either a religious image or bible verse behind
each window - but most are secular.
I've come across quite a few nice on-line advent calenders. Below are links to some of the better ones:
Advent Wreaths
An advent wreath can be made many ways but what we usually did was to
take a ring of styrofoam and cover it with greens (either real or artificial). Four candles are
then placed around the outside - either four white OR three purple and one pink. (Purple is the liturgical
color of advent. I believe the pink candle, which is lighted during the
third week of advent, symbolizes hope.) On the first Sunday and each night of the subsequent week, you light one candle.
On the second Sunday you light the first and a second and so on. Some people put a fifth candle in the center
to be lit on Christmas Day. While the candles are lit you read a bible passage pointing to the coming of the
Messiah, followed by prayer.
We always had an advent wreath when I was growing up. Right before bedtime my
brothers and I gathered around the wreath and we each took turns lighting the candle(s) and reading
the bible verses. I can't, in all honesty, say that as a child I appreciated the tradition. But I must
have gotten something from the practice because I carried on the same custom with my
children.
My daughters with our advent wreath
Jessee Tree
Jessee was the father of King David, one of the great kings of Israel, and the
one from whom the Messiah was to be descended. The usual way of making a
Jessee tree is to take a rather large, bare branch and somehow secure it so
it stands upright. Every day you hang an ornament on the branch which contains
various symbols of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. It's much like the
readings while the advent wreath is lit but a little more visual.
To learn more about the Jesse Tree please visit The Jesse Tree. They have more
info on the history and directions on how to make your own.
