Life on Rural Street

Advent

I love Advent. I grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition and had never even heard of Advent until my family moved to Pittsburgh in 1994. It was a strange concept to me at first. Of course, we celebrated Christmas as the bith of Christ and much to our extended families' dismay, we never believed in Santa Claus. And we grew more and more excited as Christmas approached. But we never actually used the word "Advent" to describe what we were celebrating. The last few years I've been learning more about the actual meaning of Advent and the traditions surrounding it.

The wore Advent means "coming" or "arrival". The season of Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation and anticipation. Historically, churches used the color purple for royalty, the coming of the King. The Advent Wreath is particularly interesting to me. The circlular shape reminds us that God has no beginning or end while the color of wreath itself (green) symbolizes new life and renewal. The four candles on the outside usually symbolize Hope (or expectation), Peace, Joy and Love. With the joy candle traditionally being pink and the other purple or blue. The candle in the center is white and is the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And don't forget the flame of the lit candles! Jesus is the light of the world!

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.