Advent begins Sunday, December 3
Season of Advent through December 24
Advent, from the Latin root adventus, means “coming.” On these Sundays that mark the transition from the end of the liturgical year and start of the new, as darkness in the northern hemisphere literally descends earlier and earlier until the arrival of Winter Solstice and Christmas day, the appointed lessons carry a message of God’s promise that the reign of God is coming. They carry the good news that while we wait, Emmanuel, “God with us,” is near. What we are waiting for is not simply Christmas, but the fullness of the reign of God, the kingdom of Christ. The reign of God begins now in human acts of love and kindness, justice, and in non-violent resistance to all that opposes the dignity of every human being and the integrity of creation. The simple season, with it’s distinctive dark blue liturgical color, holds the underlying importance of the coming of Christ in Jesus at Christmas. The Christmas season starts the evening of December 24 and continues through the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6 each year).