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What is Advent?

Advent celebrates the coming of Jesus.  It is a looking forward.  It is a time of preparation. Think of the preparation that Mary was in, as she traveled to Bethlehem.  It is like the way we prepare for marriage (the waiting is a time of engagement); it is like we prepare for company coming over (we put things in order…we ready our hearts and our home). Whether we prepare for change or not, it comes.

Jesus came to a people who were awaiting Him—they had been looking for Him for centuries—but were not prepared to meet Him.  God’s people missed His arrival, dodged His impact.  And daily Jesus is at work fulfilling the Promises God made to His people.  Daily, whether or or not we are prepared for Him to do so, Jesus comes.  Advent is the practice of making ourselves ready to receive the gift of Jesus, a gift we have available to us every day.  Advent revisits the looking forward to the birth of the Savior and sets the stage for His second coming.

Here is a great post about the meaning of Advent (from one of my favorite websites): What is Advent?

And I love this post Stephanie Rische about the symbolism of  hope in The First Week of Advent; my favorite quote here is, “The first week of Advent stands for hope, and I think it’s the hardest candle of all to keep lit.”  I told her that her words strike me, they hit close to home.  I have struggled with hope..felt hope-less.  Yet hope is meant to be the hallmark of our faith – we must “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us.” We would do well to remember that there is no faith without hope. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).

My friend Kayse is peering into Advent, looking for that same hope (read her post here).  Maybe you can relate?

Hope is worth cultivating, fighting for, and clinging to…Advent celebrates our hope!

You can also follow along as I blog about Walking Through Advent (click link for all the posts).

Advent Traditions:

The Christmas Tree

Christians have celebrated Christmas by decorating trees and bringing them indoors for centuries.  This custom originated in Germany; it became popular in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, when her German husband Prince Albert brought the tradition to Windsor castle.  Tradition maintains that Hessian soldiers (from Germany) brought the practice to the United States during the American Revolutionary War.  Years later, decorating a Christmas tree is one of the most popular, enduring traditions of Christmas. You can read more about it here:

The evergreen trees (sometimes the only green plant growing during winter) are meant to symbolize the eternal life that we have in Christ.  Some say that the first person to bring a decorated tree into the house was Martin Luther, who was captivated by the beauty of a fir tree he had seen while walking through the forest at night.  Here is my favorite Christmas traditions website: WhyChristmas.com.

From Medieval times, people have combined the retelling of the story of Jesus coming to Earth with the decorating of the Christmas Tree.  Yes, the Jesse Tree tradition is an old one.   My friend Cati hosts a Jesse Tree Ornament exchange each year.  Friends hand-make 24 sets of the same ornament; then they exchange theirs with others, so they come home with a set of 24 different ornaments, all reflecting the story of Christ. If you want to start this activity within your family, or host a gathering, Jackie Ruksdashel has put it all together for you. Just click the image below, you can purchase wooden Jesse Tree ornament sets, along with the devotional booklet of all the readings:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD–and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
(Isaiah 11:1-4, NIV).

Truth in the Tinsel   Similar to The Jesse Tree, as a story-telling & ornament related activity, but this goes a step further toward experiential learning for young kids.  The story is told as the ornament as the family makes each ornament together. “This ebook will lead you and your children on your own experience through the Christmas Story. You’ll take a few minutes each day in reading the Christmas Story directly from the Bible, making a fun ornament craft and talking about it together” (from the website).

My friend Eryn wrote this great post about combining Truth in the Tinsel with what they call, “the Advent Angel” (a very sweet alternative to Elf on the Shelf).  This is a great example of how families can create their own traditions for Advent and other milestones throughout the Christian Year!

The Advent Wreath

This is the Advent church tradition I remember most from childhood.  Each Sunday in the month preceding Christmas, a candle is lit to signify the coming of Light into the world.  “By lighting a new candle each week, accumulating the brightness, we signify our hope in the coming light of Christ, even as daylight diminishes and darkness rises with the approach of the winter solstice” (p. 41, Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God).

For centuries, families have observed this tradition at home as well.  We have never done this in our house, until this year.  I am so looking forward to it.  We plan to read a scripture and light the appropriate number of candles each night before dinner (1 during 1st week, 2 during 2nd week, etc.).

You might enjoy some inspiration from our Advent Wreath Pinterest Board.  I know I did.  I put a wreath/centerpiece together after getting inspired on Pinterest!  I will only keep you in suspense until after November 30, the first day of Advent, then I will be sharing a picture of ours.  It doesn’t have to be expensive!  You can follow Janelle’s example (from ComfyintheKitchen.com); she created a Christmas centerpiece from things she already had around the house—a few more candles and she would have had an Advent centerpiece!

The “O” Antiphons

“These series of short (hence ‘antiphon’) meditations on the messianic motifs of Jesus in the Old Testament come from the ancient church (earlier than the 6th century)…They follow a redemptive-historical progression moving from the pre-existing Christ (Heb 2:10) to the Incarnation of the virgin birth. Each one contains a reminder to pray for the return of Christ. ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Rev 22:20)” (from: cardiphonia.org/2009/12/21/o-antiphons/).  Each prayer is based on the interjection “O” and are read, one each day, in the week leading up to Christmas Eve.  Here they are with the original Latin too:

• December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
• December 18: O Adonai (O Lord)
• December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
• December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
• December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
• December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the nations)
• December 23: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

There is a great little FREE devotional on these prayers from Baylor University (click the link to download).  I loved finding out that these prayers were the basis for the Hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”.   It is performed here performed by Selah (refresh the browser if the video does not appear):

 

Other Advent Resources:

• Our Scripture Calendar for Walking Through the Christian Year Family Devotional includes readings for Sunday-Friday for the weeks of Advent.

(Click above for the pdf download)

• Our Pinterest Board for Advent Activities  (lots of fun choices for little kids!)
• Sign up  for 24 days of Betty Crocker Cookies!
• Mindy Hopman’s Advent series for families
• MORE Advent Resources compiled by my friend Erika Sweeting Dawson!
• Janelle’s Christmas Cookie Classics

• LeeAnn’s Ultimate Guide to Christmas Gifts that Make a Difference

Advent Devotionals

• A busy mom’s Advent devotional, A Moment of Christmas: daily Christmas devotions for time-strapped moms, by Anna Rendell.

• My very own Advent guide for families.  Yay!

• The Hello Mornings Advent Study (no registration required for Advent). Download the FREE WORKBOOK.

• Bobby Gross’s Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God I have loved this book so much!

• John Piper’s Advent Meditations: Paperback at amazon.com.  FREE download at desiringgod.org/books/good-news-of-great-joy

• John Piper’s Advent Meditations: Paperback at amazon.com. FREE Download at  desiringgod.org/books/the-dawning-of-indestructible-joy

 

Children’s Books:

• LeeAnn’s List

• Kayse’s List:

 Advent Music:

 Decor/Products:

Ann VosKamp’s Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas

My kiddos can’t wait to build their Lego Advent Calendar!

A few years ago, I finally broke down and bought a wooden Advent Calendar.
It makes me very happy!

Love Came Down – Felt Advent Calendar

Featured Image Copyright: grafvision / 123RF Stock Photo

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