Advent comes from the Latin word for “coming” and is the first season of the church year, so Happy New Year! The season starts four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve.
We use this season as a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of our Lord’s nativity with the final coming of Christ “in power and glory.”
What Colors Do We Use To Celebrate Advent?
If you have attended a liturgical church you may notice that banners and lectern falls change color. The close changes are not a whim bus based on the liturgical calendar.
During some seasons, we use white, often during Christmas and Easter. On some feast days, we use red, like Pentecost Sunday. During the prior season, the Sundays after Pentecost, we use green.
In Advent, we use purple or blue to symbolize repentance and reflection. We can use either color or both together, which we commonly do.
There is one Sunday of Advent where we use rose. The color is not pink because Christ did not “pink from the grave” (as a former priest reminded us).
We use the color rose for the third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. The color rose represents joy or rejoicing and reveals a shift in the season of Advent away from repentance and toward celebration.
Advent Activates Within The Diocese
December 3. 2023, at 4 pm Lessonsons and Carols at All Saints Cathedral
Advent Activates Within Our Doors.
Once again, we return to a sung Rite One Mass for this Advent season. For the December 18 Morning Prayer, as of now, we will reuse the same booklets we have been using.
- December 3, The First Sunday of Advent
- The colors for this Sunday are Purple or Blue.
- 9 am Mass with a reflection based on the lighting of the first candle
- December 10, The Second of Advent
- The colors for this Sunday are Purple or Blue
- 9 am Mass with a thought based on the lighting of the second candle
- December 17, The Third Sunday of Advent
- Rose
- 9 am Morning Pray and we light the third candle
- December 24, The Fourth Sunday of Advent/Christmas Eve
- The colors for this Sunday are Purple or Blue
- 9 am Mass with meditation based on the lighting of the fourth candle.
- Greening of the Church
- 4 pm Mass includes lighting the final candle, the white one in the middle.
- December 25, Christmas Day
- No in-person service (at this point)
For more information on Christmas services, visit this page.
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