Advent

An Advent Wreath. This is the first thing you see when you walk into Levi's school. Last week they were for sale at every grocery store and market. The kids even made some in school. What is "Advent"? While I am not exactly sure how most people here interpret it's meaning, I found this helpful from a website that Brad's brother gave us.

"Advent is a word that means "coming" or "arrival". It is a four-week period in which the church remembers the promises of Jesus' first coming, and looks forward to his promise to come again. Thus, Advent is a season of tension. Christ has come, and yet not all things have reached completion. While we remember Israel's waiting and hoping and we give thanks for Christ's birth, we also anticipate his second coming at the end of time. Just as John the Baptist told the Jewish people to "prepare" for the Lord's coming, we need to encourage each other to be ready for his coming again, when he will fulfill God's promises. Indeed the wolf will lie down with the lamb, death will be swallowed up and every tear will be wiped away".

I am longing for this day.

It goes on to explain "The Christian Church has observed a Christmas season since the 4th century. There was always a period of preparation before Christmas Day, which varied between 3-7 weeks, and functioned as a penitential season, a time for discipline and intentional repentance in the confident expectation and hope of Christ's return. In the 10th century the 4 week pattern was finally settled(so we've only been doing this for a millennium)! European Christians used greenery and candles to enhance the season, and that practice has caught on in America and around the world in recent years. The Advent wreath itself is a tradition that is centuries old. A candle is lit during and for each week until Christmas Eve when all 5 candles are lit. Three of the candles are purple, which is a penitential color (a symbol of self examination and preparation). They remind us that, just as the prophets and John the Baptist called Israel to "get ready for the Lord," we need to be doing the same thing! The pink candle for the fourth week of Advent signals a transition to the white candle, the "Christ candle", which is lit on Christmas Eve. This reminds us that it is not all "preparation"-Jesus really came, and will really come again."