What is Advent and why are people doing this? In this episode we examine it’s roots and traditions.
What is Advent?
Advent is from the Latin term adventus meaning “arrival” or “coming”. It is traditionally the 4 week period leading up to Christmas. For many this has been a more orthydox practice many protestants have never really participated in. However, in current years more protestant churches are embracing the practice of counting down the days to Christmas through these advent traditions such as the Advent Wreath or Advent Calendars.
We begin by discussing what Advent is and what it isn’t. We try to nail down the origins at least as we find things recorded about it. The Advent traditions tend to focus actually as much on the second coming as they the first… so it is interesting that it is not just about Christmas.
Finally we’ll discuss the varied traditional practices of Advent including:
Covenantal Fasting
The Advent Wreath
The Jesse Tree
Advent Calenders
So is the practice of these traditions advent-ageous to our Christians walk? We think so. Many will equate the practice strictly with Catholicism and as a result feel uncomfortable practicing them as protestants. But placing the origin aside, the practice of counting down to Jesus could actually present our families with a Christmas tradition that transcends shopping, wishlists, and elves to, instead, focus on Jesus and the events which lead to his coming.