Advent Has Already Started
This year, Advent starts as early as November 30th. Advent wreath is an inherent part of Advent time.
It is not very often that the first Advent Sunday falls in November. However, this year, on the 30th of November the first out of four candles on the Advent wreath were lit.
Let’s first mention the origin of Advent.
We can read in encyclopaedias that the term comes from Greek ἐπιφανεία (epifaneia i.e. epiphany), which denoted the arrival of gods into the temple or a king’s visit. Originally, Advent time was a time of fasting which was held between November 11th and January 6th, which used to be the day on which the birth of Jesus was celebrated. Nowadays, however, the Church established the 6th of January as the day of Epiphany. These eight weeks, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays, represented in total forty fasting days.
The origin of Advent dates back to the 7th century when the western church celebrated a certain number of Advent Sundays. In the past, there used to be six Advent Sundays and it was not until the times of Pope Gregory the Great that their number was reduced to four.
It is also good to know that Advent is closely connected with the notion of liturgical year. In fact, it is then that the religious year starts.
Liturgical year consists of so called liturgical seasons and it determines the sequence and binding character of various celebrations, religious holidays, etc. Another interesting fact is that individual liturgical seasons have their own liturgical colour.
Yet, liturgical years of individual Christian churches are based on different calendars, mostly on Julian and Gergorian calendars, but sometimes even on the national calendar, as is the case of the Old Armenian Church.
Moveable feasts
A number of feasts do not have a fixed date, which means that they are moveable. So is Advent. It starts on the first Advent Sunday, which can fall on any day between the 27th of November to the 3rd December. The end of Advent is on Christmas Eve. And just one more curiosity: the third Advent Sunday is called Gaudete and unlike the other days of Advent, its liturgical colour is not purple but pink. This means that the third candle on your Advent wreath should also be pink. Why is it so? Because in Rome, on the third Advent Sunday, there was a mass Gaudete in Domino Semper (Always Rejoice in the Lord) to rejoice that the time of Jesus’s birth, i.e. Christmas, has drown closer. And pink is the colour of joy.
Sometimes the last Advent Sunday falls on Christmas Eve. If this happens, Advent actually only lasts for three weeks, although there are four Advent Sundays.
Advent and other feasts can be found in the movable calendar up to the year 2099 at http://pastorace.cz/kalendar/index.htm
The Orthodox Church still has a six-week Advent, which lasts from the 15th of November to the 24th of December and it is the time of fast. Orthodox year does not start with Advent but on the 1st of September.
In the western tradition, Advent used to be a calm, peaceful time adjusted to the lifestyle of our ancestors brought about by long December nights. Today, however, Advent is largely used for commercial purposes, far from anything like calm and peaceful time.
Advent wreath
Why a wreath? Because from time immemorial, wreath has been the symbol of victory and royal dignity. Also the Bible speaks about wreath a token of respect, joy and victory. Advent wreaths are a homage to the one who is awaited and who comes as a victor, king and deliverer, i.e. Jesus Christ, according to Church. The light coming from the burning candles symbolises the arrival of Christ, who disperses darkness and fear, since he is “the Light of the World“.
The vast majority of Praguers buy their Advent wreaths. However some people make it themselves. Here are some tips for those who would like to give it a go but have not tried before:.
What you need:
1. Conifer branchlets – best if it does not drop off when they are dry (e.g. fir, arbor vitae, yew, etc.).
2. Circular straw mat or polystyrene foam corpus.
3. Iron baling wire or cord.
4. Four candles. Nowadays colours are chosen to suit the interior of the place where the wreath will be placed. In churches the candles are usually purple or dark red.
5. Tools to fix the candles to the wreath (nails or mats that go under the candles).
6. Ribbons.
7. Nuts, cones, rose-hips, dryed oranges and other fruit and decorative materials.
All that has been mentioned can be bought in gardening centres.
Tools:
1. Scissors and garden scissor to cut the branchlets.
2. Wire pincers.
3. Possibly a glue gun.
One final tip: when you have finished making the branchlet corpus, spray it with a water sprayer. When the branchelets have absorbed the water, spray it with a hair lacquer. This way the branchlets will not easily fall off.
Advent songs
Old Czech Advent songs expressed quite well what Advent time used to be like. These songs were known as „roráty“. They were compiled from biblical texts, mainly prophetic. (Roráty – the name comes from the most famous Latin Advent from 16th century France: “Rorate coeli de super…“ – “the heavens give us dew, give us a saviour…“). They talk about the anticipation of salvation, delivery from captivity and coming close to God. They bring affirmation of God’s loyalty and the promise of salvation.
One of the Advent songs
Adventní rorátní chorál
(Pavel Jurkovič)
Mnozí spravedliví proroci a králi
Spasitele viděti žádali,
Mojžíš, Samuel s Davidem,
Isajiáš s Jeremiášem
spolu hlasy plačtivými volali:
Ukaž svou tvář nejdražší,
zboř nebesa, sestup dolů, Mesiáši.