Liturgical Notes for Advent and Christmas Seasons

Liturgical Notes

Advent

The liturgical year begins with Evening Prayer I of the First Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent continues through the four Sundays of Advent and ends at Christmas Eve.

Advent, therefore, is first of all a time of preparation for Christmas. Even though Christ was actually born over 2000 years ago, during Advent we prepare our hearts to “receive” Jesus into the world each year as a light to the nations, at a time when our calendar is reaching its darkest period. Advent is also a time of looking forward to Christ’s Second Coming in the last days.

The Lectionary for Mass, which cycles through three liturgical years (A, B, and C), changes to a new year at Advent.

The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. It takes its name from that Sunday’s traditional reading from the Epistle to the Philippians (now read only in Year C) which begins with Gaudete in Domino semper (“Rejoice in the Lord always”).

The liturgical color for Advent is violet, a deep bluish red (often mistakenly called “purple”) symbolizing mourning and penance. On Gaudete Sunday, however, rose-colored vestments may be used for this joyful day. Hence the one rose-colored candle among the other three violet candles of the Advent wreath.

Christmas

No one knows the actual date on which the Child Jesus was born. The date on which the Church observes his birth has more symbolic value than anything, coming five days (five being the number of the physical senses) after the winter solstice. Thus we celebrate the Word become flesh, coming to dwell among us as the light of the human race, just after the darkest point of the solar year. And so Christmas is a holy day second only to Easter in the Roman calendar.

The Octave of Christmas (octave means eight; hence the octave of Christmas lasts for eight days) begins with Christmas day and ends after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Then the liturgical calendar focuses on the next immediate Sunday, counting off days before and after it: Epiphany. Epiphany commemorates the recognition of Jesus as the Son of God by the three Wise Men (and by extension, by all nations). Also, by tradition, the movable feasts of the current liturgical year are announced to the people on Epiphany (Ceremonial of Bishops, 240).

The season of Christmas ends on the Monday after the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the purification of the world, through Christ himself.

http://www.shrinesf.org/seasons.htm

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