Advent Meaning: What Does “Advent” Mean?

What Does “Advent” Mean?

Wikipedia defines Advent as a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus’s birth at Christmas and his return at the Second Coming.

The word comes from Latin adventus — meaning “coming” or “arrival” — the same root behind “adventure” (a coming-toward the unknown) and the liturgical season’s entire theme: something is coming; get ready.

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity — the church calendar starts not in January but in late November, with waiting. That placement is theologically deliberate: the Christian story begins in anticipation.

The Season of Advent: Dates & Structure

• When it starts: Advent begins on Advent Sunday — the fourth Sunday before Christmas, defined as the Sunday nearest November 30 (St. Andrew’s Day).
• When it ends: Christmas Eve (December 24) — Advent is the season before Christmas, not part of it.
• How long: roughly four weeks (22–28 days depending on the year).
• 2026: November 29 – December 24. 2027: November 28 – December 24.
• Liturgical color: violet/purple (penitence, preparation) in most traditions; some use blue (hope, expectation) — notably in Anglican and some Lutheran churches.
• Mood: restrained joy — anticipatory rather than celebratory. The “Gloria” is traditionally omitted from services during Advent, then bursts forth at Christmas.

The Eastern Orthodox counterpart is the Nativity Fast — a 40-day period of fasting and preparation beginning November 15, longer and more ascetic than Western Advent.

The Three Comings

Traditional Advent theology frames the season around three “comings” (adventus) of Christ:

• 1. The coming in history: the nativity in Bethlehem — the birth Christians prepare to celebrate at Christmas. This is the most familiar dimension.
• 2. The coming in mystery: Christ’s reception in the believer’s heart — the present, spiritual coming through faith, prayer, and sacrament. Advent asks: is there room?
• 3. The coming in majesty: the Second Coming — the future return in glory. This eschatological dimension gives Advent its solemn edge: it’s not just a countdown to presents.

This threefold structure is why Advent readings mix cozy nativity texts with apocalyptic prophecies — Isaiah’s suffering servant alongside John’s visions of judgment. The season holds joy and gravity together.

Practices & Symbols

• Advent wreath: a circle of evergreen (eternal life) holding four candles — three violet, one rose (pink). One candle is lit each Sunday: the rose candle on the third Sunday (Gaudete Sunday — “rejoice,” the season’s joyful pivot). Some wreaths add a central white Christ candle lit on Christmas Eve.
• Advent calendars: the beloved countdown — 24 or 25 small doors or compartments, opened one per day through December, traditionally revealing pictures or Bible verses (modern versions: chocolate, tea, cosmetics, LEGO).
• Daily devotionals: many Christians follow Advent reading plans — a short Scripture and reflection each day of the season.
• Hanging of the Greens: a service of decorating the church with evergreens, rich with symbolism (the holly’s thorns, the ivy’s persistence).
• Chrismon tree: a tree decorated with white and gold Christian symbols (Chi-Rho, crosses, stars) — “Chrismon” from “Christ” + “monogram.”
• Christingle: (especially in the UK) an orange studded with a candle — the orange is the world, the candle Christ’s light, the red ribbon his blood, the dried fruits the earth’s bounty.

Advent Around the World

• Germany: Advent’s homeland — the Advent wreath (Adventskranz) was invented by a Hamburg pastor in 1839, and Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmärkte) open during Advent season.
• UK: Christingle services, Advent candles in windows, and the distinctive blue liturgical color in many Anglican churches.
• Scandinavia: St. Lucia Day (December 13) falls within Advent — processions of white-robed girls with candle crowns brightening the dark season.
• Mexico & Latin America: Las Posadas (December 16–24) — reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging — overlaps Advent’s final days.
• Ethiopia/Eritrea: the Fast of the Prophets (Tsome Nebiyat) — 43 days of preparation, longer than Western Advent.

Advent in General Use

Outside religion, “advent” (often lowercase) simply means the arrival or coming into being of something notable:

• “The advent of the internet transformed communication.”
• “The advent of streaming ended the video-rental era.”
• “With the advent of AI, every industry is rethinking itself.”

The usage carries a faint echo of the religious sense — an advent isn’t just an arrival but a momentous one, an arrival that changes what comes after. You wouldn’t say “the advent of my lunch.” The word retains its gravity: advents are epochal.

The Advent Wreath: Candle by Candle

The wreath’s four candles each carry a theme, lit progressively through the season:

• Week 1 — Hope (violet): the Prophecy Candle, recalling Isaiah’s promises of a Messiah. Lit on Advent Sunday.
• Week 2 — Peace (violet): the Bethlehem Candle, for Mary and Joseph’s journey. Two candles burn.
• Week 3 — Joy (rose/pink): the Shepherd’s Candle, lit on Gaudete Sunday — the season’s joyful pivot, when the penitential violet briefly gives way to celebration.
• Week 4 — Love (violet): the Angel’s Candle, for the final week of anticipation. All four burn.

Many traditions add a fifth candle — the white Christ Candle in the wreath’s center, lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day: the waiting is over; the light has arrived. The circular wreath itself symbolizes eternity (no beginning, no end) and the evergreen stands for everlasting life.

How it’s used: families and churches light the appropriate candles each Sunday (often with a short reading and prayer), letting the growing light physically enact the season’s theme — darkness giving way, week by week, to dawn.

Advent Music & Readings

Advent has its own distinctive soundtrack — more restrained than Christmas carols, built on longing:

• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: the quintessential Advent hymn — a 12th-century chant pleading for the Messiah’s arrival, each verse invoking a biblical title (“O Wisdom,” “O Key of David”).
• “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”: Charles Wesley’s 1744 hymn of patient hope.
• “Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending”: the Second Coming dimension — Advent’s solemn, apocalyptic side set to music.
• The “O Antiphons”: seven ancient chants sung December 17–23, each addressing Christ by a prophetic title — the original Advent countdown.

Typical Advent Scripture readings cycle through Isaiah’s prophecies, John the Baptist’s “prepare the way,” and the apocalyptic discourses — the strange mix of manger and judgment that defines the season.

Advent vs Christmastide vs Christmas Season

	Advent	Christmastide	“Christmas Season” (popular)
When	4 Sundays before Christmas → Dec 24	Dec 25 → Jan 5 (Epiphany Eve)	Roughly Thanksgiving → New Year
Mood	Waiting, preparation	Celebration	Festive shopping/socializing
Color	Violet/blue	White/gold	Red/green
“Merry Christmas”?	Traditionally not yet	Yes! (all 12 days)	Said from November

The common confusion: popular culture celebrates Christmas during Advent — the parties, the music, the “Merry Christmas” all happen in December before the 25th. Liturgically, that’s backwards: Advent is for waiting; the celebration starts on Christmas Day and runs twelve days (Christmastide — the “twelve days of Christmas”).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “Advent” mean?
From Latin adventus — “coming, arrival.” The Christian season of preparation before Christmas; generally, the arrival of something significant.

When does Advent start and end?
Starts the 4th Sunday before Christmas (Advent Sunday); ends Christmas Eve. About four weeks.

When is Advent 2026?
November 29 – December 24, 2026.

What are the 4 Advent candles?
Traditionally representing hope, peace, joy, and love — three violet, one rose (lit on Gaudete Sunday, the joyful third week).

What is Gaudete Sunday?
The third Sunday of Advent — from Latin gaudete (“rejoice”). The season’s joyful pivot: rose vestments, the pink candle, a lightening of the penitential mood.

Is Advent the same as Christmas?
No. Advent is the preparation (waiting); Christmas/Christmastide is the celebration (Dec 25 – Jan 5). Popular culture blurs them.

Do all Christians observe Advent?
Most Western denominations (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian) do. Eastern Orthodox observe the Nativity Fast instead. Some evangelical churches observe it lightly or not at all.

What does “the advent of” mean?
The arrival or emergence of something important: “the advent of the internet.” Lowercase, non-religious — but carrying a sense of epochal significance.

How do you use “Advent” in a sentence?
“The church decorated the Advent wreath on Sunday.” / “The advent of streaming changed television forever.”

Related seasonal terms on SpellProf: YHWH meaning, hosanna meaning.

Source: For the religious season, see Wikipedia’s article on Advent.