This past Sunday marked the 1st Sunday of Advent. Advent is one of the 7 Catholic church seasons and begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It ends on Christmas Eve.

Do you know what the word Advent means? 

Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” During Advent, we as Christians focus on preparing for the birth of Jesus. Advent means to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.

The season of Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, preparation and longing.

The main colour of Advent is purple. This is the colour of penitence, fasting and royalty.

At the beginning of Advent we normally put up an Advent wreath with 3 purple candles and 1 pink candle decorated with a purple ribbon or bow around it. The Advent wreath is a circle to show that God’s love has no beginning and no end. Wreaths are made out of fake or real pine needles from an evergreen tree because they never lose their needles and are always the same. This shows that God’s love will always be the same and never change. 

When I was growing up, my parents always played a particular album on their record player (ha!) called Gentle Night. It has songs related to Advent as well as Christmas and I still play it to this day (but on my iPod, not a record player!).

Here’s one of my favourite Advent songs on the album:

What are some ways you celebrate Advent?

Do you have an Advent wreath at your house or school?