Advent - Preparing for the Coming

Growing up Advent was not a part of our family’s Christmas celebration. But in my family, we have found Advent to be the cornerstone to our Christmas celebration. This decision has helped us to keep Jesus as the focus of the holiday and not the commercial secular holiday that many people complain about.

Advent, if you are not familiar with it, is literally “the coming”. It begins four weeks prior to Christmas. Each week in advent is focused around one ideal: Faith, hope, love, peace, and culminates with the birth of Christ.

Our church makes Advent the focus of each Sundays’ service. One family shares their holiday traditions with the congregation and then lights the Advent candle as we all sing the Advent Song. This tradition has helped our family keep Jesus as the center of our celebration. All of our energies are spent thinking about the coming.

Actually, our Advent starts in early November when we participate in Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child teaches us to focus on other’s needs as opposed to our own. But the traditional Advent begins this year on Sunday, November 30th and is the beginning of the church calendar.

If you are interested in celebrating advent with your family, you may want to get advent candles, plan readings, or use an advent calendar. Advent candles can be as simple as votive candles and calendars can be as unique as the Advent calendar sold by Lego.





Advent can be an interesting and unique as you wish to make it as long as you keep the focus on Jesus’ birth. One family I know adds hay straws in their cresh for each good deed that their children do with the anticipation of making a comfortable bed for Jesus while at the same time doing his work on earth.