Advent Important Facts
Some Historical Facts about Advent:
Advent hasn’t always been the beginning of the church’s liturgical year. At first, the church celebrated only Sunday, a weekly celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. However, probably from the mid-second century on, there is evidence of an annual celebration of the Lord’s resurrection and, for a long time, the “beginning” of the liturgical year coincided with the Easter Vigil. It wasn’t until about the tenth or eleventh centuries that Advent began to be considered the beginning of the liturgical year since, with a more historical mentality, it made sense to begin the liturgical year with the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life. Christmas was introduced on the calendar in the fourth century.
Source: Living Liturgy 2008, p5. Order of St Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota.
What does this season means to us?
1. This season prepares us to Christmas, the first coming of our Lord Jesus.
2. This preparation is the directed to await Christ’s second coming at the end of time.
Why is Purple the color of Advent?
Purple is also the color of royalty and the sovereignty of Christ, demonstrating anticipation of and reception of the coming King celebrated during Advent. Also, the use of purple suggests a state of unfulfilled readiness and should no longer be regarded as an expression of penitence
What is the meaning behind the advent wreath?
The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church.
Is Advent a penitential Season?
Yes and No. Advent still invites us to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord in which we are encouraged to all the more intensify our prayers and to repent as well. On the other hand, it is not like Lent because the focus of Advent is about the coming of the Lord and is about the joyous waiting of his arrival. This is specifically specified in the Canon Law:
Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.