The fourth Sunday before Christmas is called Advent Sunday. It falls at the start of December, or sometimes as in 2025, at the end of November. In churches of many denominations, Advent marks the coming of the Christmas season. This is the story …
Meaning of Advent
In everyday English, the word “advent” is used to describe the time when something starts to be adopted or at the commencement of a new era, such as “the advent of penicillin” or “the advent of the mobile phone”. The word “advent” is one of many words which came into English from Latin. In Latin “Adventus” means arrival and was the liturgical run-up to Christmas.Origins
Advent has been marked since the fourth century. Originally Advent was forty days long and was known as the “forty days of St Martin” because it began on November 11, the feast day of St Martin of Tours. Later, Advent was reduced to four weeks to the period we know now.
Medieval Practice
In Pre-Reformation Europe the season of “Adventus” was a period of fasting and penance, akin to Lent before Easter. There were three days of fasting during Adventus known as “Ember Days”, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Fasting did not mean avoiding all food but was understood to mean abstinence. During Adventus people were expected to abstain from gambling, intimate relations, and unnecessary travel, and weddings were not allowed. On the three Ember days only one meal a day was eaten that consisted of fish or vegetables. There were general exemptions for pregnant women, children, the old, infirm, or those who were doing physical labour. Otherwise, people were expected to abstain from meat (fish was not considered meat), dairy products, fat, wine, ale, and mead, although eggs were permitted. In the medieval context, fasting helped meat supplies go further over the winter, in readiness for Christmas.
Modern Advent
Over time, Advent became less strict, and it has continued in Anglican and Lutheran contexts and evolved into a season of joyful expectation rather than fasting and penance. At one time Advent was only really practised in traditional denominations but has been increasingly adopted by more Free Church traditions. In evangelical traditions which mark Advent, they tend to emphasise the biblical hope in Christ's dual comings, and the Advent of new life in a believer.
Liturgical Advent
For many Christians, Advent describes the liturgical season coming up to Christmas. There are four Sundays in the season of Christmas. People who are more used to Advent calendars think of Advent starting on the first day of December. However liturgically Advent starts on the Advent Sunday which falls on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This is usually at the start of December, and is sometimes December 1, but it can be at the end of November. The reason for this is that Christmas Day can fall on any day of the week, which means that Advent Sunday can be as early as November 27, or as late as December 3. It is only when Christmas Day is on a Wednesday that Advent starts on the first day of December (as happened in 2024). After Advent Sunday there are three more Advent Sundays up to Christmas Eve, known as the Second, Third and Fourth Sundays of Advent.
Sundays of Advent
Some churches have specific traditions and liturgies for Advent. Churches may choose their own Bible readings but many choose the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. The first two Sundays look forward to the second coming of Christ (known as the second Advent) and the last two Sundays look forward to his Nativity (called the first Advent). Over the course of these four weeks, lectionary readings start with Scriptures about Christ’s return in judgement, move onto Old Testament passages of prophecies of the coming Messiah usually from Isaiah, and then onto the New Testament passages about John the Baptist and Christ’s arrival at Bethlehem from Matthew and Luke. Advent then ends at Christmas, either on Christmas Eve, or for churches which do not have a service on Christmas Eve, on the morning of Christmas Day
Advent Candles
It is becoming increasingly common for churches to have an Advent wreath with five candles. This tradition started in Lutheran Germany but has spread and become popular across many traditions. Some churches have evolved elaborate rituals for it, with assigned names and colours to the candles, and special liturgy.
Essentially the first candle is lit on Advent Sunday, and then the other candles are lit on each of the subsequent Sundays of Advent, and then a central candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The use of candles harks back to a time before electric lighting, but symbolises Jesus as Light of the World (John 8:2), and echoes the Jewish use of the menorah at Hanukkah which Jesus would have known (John 10:22).
Readings
Common lectionary readings for Advent Sunday are Isaiah 2:1-5, which is a vision of peace; or Isaiah 64:1-9 which is a call for the Lord to come to earth; Psalm 122, which is a nine-verse pilgrimage psalm; Romans 13:11-14, about the coming of the hour of salvation; and the New Testament readings are Matthew 24:36-44 and Romans 13:11-14 which are about the second coming of Christ, known as the Second Advent.
Collect
The Anglican collect prayer for Advent Sunday is, “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”
