Advent
Advent is the season of hopeful waiting and preparation for Christmas, and it opens the Christian year. Advent 2026 begins on Sunday, November 29, 2026, the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and ends on Christmas Eve. Christians use these weeks to remember the birth of Jesus and to prepare for his promised return.
When Is Advent?
What Advent Means
Advent, from the Latin 'adventus,' meaning 'coming,' is a season of joyful anticipation rather than celebration. It asks Christians to enter into the experience of waiting for the coming of Christ, both in remembrance of the historical anticipation of the Messiah by Israel and in forward-looking expectation of Christ's return at the end of history. The Advent season honors the fullness of the Christian timeline: Christ has come, Christ is present, and Christ will come again. It is a counter-cultural invitation to slow down, to cultivate hope, and to make room, as Mary made room, for the presence of God.
Advent in the Bible
Isaiah 9:6KJV“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”
How Advent Is Observed
Advent is observed through the lighting of the Advent wreath, which holds four candles, usually three purple and one rose, often named hope, peace, joy, and love. One candle is lit each Sunday of Advent, and many families add a white Christ candle at Christmas. Advent calendars, featuring twenty-four doors opened one per day from December 1 to Christmas Eve, are a beloved tradition. Many churches hold special evening Advent services. It is a season for reading Scripture, prayer, and simplicity, a counterweight to the commercial frenzy of the surrounding culture.
Catholic
In the Catholic Church, Advent begins the liturgical year. Priests wear violet, with rose permitted on the Third Sunday, called Gaudete Sunday. The Gloria is not sung at Sunday Mass until Christmas, and the readings move from Christ's return at the end of time to the events that led to his birth.
Orthodox
Orthodox churches keep the Nativity Fast, a forty-day season of fasting, prayer and almsgiving that begins on November 15 and runs to Christmas Eve. Churches that follow the older Julian calendar keep the same fast thirteen days later on the civil calendar.
Protestant
Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and many other Protestant churches keep Advent with the wreath, Scripture readings and hymns such as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Many Lutheran and some Anglican and Methodist parishes use blue as the color of hope. Other congregations mark the season more informally with candle lighting and family devotions.
Where It Falls in the Christian Year
Advent begins one week after Christ the King, the last Sunday of the church year, and leads straight into Christmas. The prophecy read most often in these weeks is in Isaiah 9. For every feast in order, see the Christian holidays calendar.
Advent FAQ
When does Advent start in 2026?
Advent 2026 starts on Sunday, November 29, 2026. The First Sunday of Advent is always the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, so it falls between November 27 and December 3. In 2027, Advent begins on Sunday, November 28, 2027.
What is Advent?
Advent is the season of preparation before Christmas. The name comes from the Latin adventus, meaning coming or arrival. Christians use it to remember the first coming of Jesus at Bethlehem and to prepare for his second coming at the end of time.
How long is Advent?
Advent always has four Sundays, but its length in days changes each year, from 22 to 28 days, depending on the weekday of Christmas. In 2026, Advent runs from November 29 through December 24, a total of 26 days.
What do the Advent candles mean?
Most Advent wreaths hold four candles, one lit on each Sunday. Three are usually purple and one is rose, lit on the Third Sunday. Many churches name the candles hope, peace, joy and love, though the names vary. Some add a white Christ candle in the center for Christmas.
Do Orthodox Christians celebrate Advent?
Orthodox Christians do not use the name Advent, but they prepare for Christmas with the Nativity Fast. It lasts forty days, from November 15 to December 24, and focuses on fasting, prayer and generosity to the poor.
Is Advent in the Bible?
The word Advent does not appear in the Bible, and the season took shape in the church centuries after the New Testament was written. Its themes come from Scripture: the prophets' hope for the Messiah, John the Baptist's call to prepare the way, and Jesus's promise to return.
Sources
- Scripture quotations: the King James Version, from our KJV Bible.
- USCCB, Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States, 2027
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Advent
- Orthodox Church in America, Nativity of Christ
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 524
Related Christian Holidays
The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to redeem humanity.
Learn moreChrist the King closes the liturgical year by proclaiming Jesus Christ as sovereign ruler over all creation.
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Learn moreThe revelation of Jesus to the Magi, and to all the nations of the world.
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