Advent is a term that we’ve all heard about and know it is related to Christmas, yet not everybody knows its exact meaning. It is the four week period just between Thanksgiving and Christmas. All Christians celebrate Advent. The word actually means ‘the coming’. In the societies of the Roman empire, the word adventus referred to the arrival of a person of dignity and great power — a king, emperor, or even one of the gods. For Christians, Advent is the time when the church prepares for the coming of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.
We are looking forward to the Christmas holidays season celebration. We can celebrate Advent either at the church or at home with the family.

To celebrate Advent we light 5 candles in a wreath, that sits on a candleholder. The first 4 candles are one for each Sunday leading to Christmas and the central, 5th candel is usually a larger one, white in color, that sits in the center of the wreath. Many times the 4 candles are purple in color (3 of them) while the 4th is pink, or all 4 are purple. The purple means repentance and the pink symbolizes joy. The main central candel is called the Christ candel and it is only lit on Christmas day. Many families when litting the candel read a few verses of scripture that are related to the meaning of the candle.

The actual wreath symbolizes a circle that has no beginning nor end. It is made of fresh plant material. The light represents Christ, who is showing us the way to righteousness.

Active Christians do special things to mark the holy Advent season. For example, various churches have Wednesday night services similar to those during Lent, only with a lot more praise, joy and songs.