Religious Education News 

ADVENT

The season of Advent is a time for pause, reflection, and preparation for the gift of God’s love coming to us through the baby Jesus. During Advent, we look forward to celebrating the fact that God loves us so much that he sent his Son into the world to save us. This waiting is full of the hope that God promises us as we prepare for Christ in the feast of Christmas.

The four weeks of Advent are popularly considered to symbolise the four thousand years of darkness before the coming of Christ. We set up Nativity scenes, light Advent candles, and decorate wreaths in our homes to signify Christ’s presence coming. Four candles adorn an Advent wreath, one for each week. A fifth candle is sometimes placed in the centre for the beginning of the Christmas season.

Advent colours are worn by the priests and deacons and decorate the church. They are represented in the candles that surround the Advent wreath:

Violet: hope, peace, and love (First, Second, and Fourth Week of Advent)

Rose: joy (Third Week of Advent)

White: light and purity (Christ Candle, centre candle completes the season and begins Christmas)