What Is Advent?

An Introduction by Dr. Mark D. Roberts

Over at BeliefNet, Dr. Roberts has put together a great Introduction to Advent resource.  Be sure to check it out.  You can find other Advent postings using the blogroll as a target, by typing in “advent” in the search box and selecting the blogroll or this site.

When is Advent?

Advent is a season in the Christian year that lasts for about four weeks. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve, thus there is some variation in its length. If you're unfamiliar with the idea of Christian seasons, you might find helpful a series I've written called: Introduction to the Christian Year. I should mention that Eastern Orthodox Christians do not recognize Advent per se, but have a longer season that is rather like Advent. Their Nativity Fast begins in the middle of November and is a season for repentance and abstinence.

In our secular American celebration of Christmas, the Christmas season (or holiday season, ugh) begins in the weeks prior to Christmas Day. Generally, this season starts in early December, though retailers have a bad habit of beginning Christmas in November (or even October). In my rule book, you shouldn't listen to Christmas music or turn on Christmas lights until after you've finished the Thanksgiving turkey . . . at the earliest. Of course outside of my immediate family, nobody follows my rules . . . especially retailers.

So Advent overlaps with what is usually thought of in American culture as the Christmas season. But its beginning and ending are well defined, and its themes are quite a bit different from what is commonly associated with secular Christmas celebrations.

Read more: Mark D. Roberts at BeliefNet